On Monday, the 6th day of Taiwan’s “Han Guang No. 42 Exercise,” the military conducted a port defense drill. Simultaneously, in central Taiwan, the “2026 Town Resilience” exercise was carried out, simulating response actions in the event of a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) attack or a natural disaster causing communication disruptions.
According to reports from various media outlets, this year’s Han Guang exercise included, for the first time, a drill on “disruption of mobile communication networks.” In seven counties and cities in central Taiwan, a 30-minute exercise was conducted to test whether the government and civilians could maintain basic operations when mobile communication is disrupted.
At 2:30 p.m. local time, an air raid siren sounded in Taichung City, prompting residents to evacuate the streets.
During the exercise, only basic mobile phone services were retained, while critical services such as ATM machines and traffic lights were unaffected. Landline telephones and fixed internet services continued to operate normally.
The Taiwanese government had extensively publicized the exercise before it began. On Friday, bilingual SMS reminders were sent to all mobile phone users across Taiwan, with detailed information also posted on social media.
The mobile network slowdown exercise in northern Taiwan (including Taipei) is scheduled for this Thursday, the 13th.
The 10-day Han Guang live-fire exercise will continue until August 14, focusing on scenarios involving countering CCP attempts to forcibly take over Taiwanese islands. Earlier on Monday, the military simulated repelling a CCP airborne assault on the strategically important Penghu Islands.
The exercise unfolded on a beach in the Penghu Islands in the Taiwan Strait before dawn, with forces deploying M60A3 tanks, various artillery pieces, and anti-aircraft guns among other weapons.
During the exercise, the forces coordinated their actions, setting up a “multilayered” defense to simulate responding to enemy forces attempting rapid coastal landings.
Compared to mainland China, the Penghu Islands are closer to Taiwan. Taiwanese strategic experts believe that these islands could be the CCP’s potential initial attack targets. Beijing might try to seize these islands and use them as a base to launch missile and drone attacks on Taiwan.
Reservists from Penghu participated in the exercise. The Taiwanese military is striving to better integrate reserve forces into operational plans and bring contingency preparations closer to real combat scenarios.