Taiwan Tests Relocating Weapons Production as Military Drills Prepare for Potential China Attack

Taiwan will test relocating weapons production lines and converting civilian factories for military use during its annual Han Kuang military exercises next month, the Ministry of National Defense said Tuesday, as Taipei prepares for scenarios in which Chinese attacks disrupt critical defense manufacturing and logistics.

The Aug. 5-14 drills will simulate a scenario in which China uses routine military exercises to conceal preparations for a full-scale invasion of Taiwan, prompting the island’s armed forces to enter immediate combat readiness and launch rapid-response operations.

The exercises are designed to assess Taiwan’s ability to sustain military operations while protecting key infrastructure, communications and supply chains.

Taiwan to Test Wartime Relocation of Defense Production

The exercise assumes “Chinese forces use routine annual joint military exercises as cover for large-scale landing training, concealing plans to attack Taiwan while completing final assault preparations,” Major Gen. Lu Wen-yuan, head of the Joint Operations Division, said during a defense ministry briefing.

As part of the simulation, Taiwan will rehearse relocating the Armaments Bureau’s 202nd Arsenal in Taipei and activate civilian factories capable of carrying out “whole-system assembly” after emergency mobilization orders are issued.

The scenario reflects one of Taiwan’s primary defense concerns: that China could attempt to disable military command centers, ports, logistics hubs and defense industrial facilities early in a conflict. Beijing claims Taiwan as part of its territory, while Taiwan’s government rejects those claims and maintains that the island is self-governed.

Navy and Coast Guard to Protect Critical Supply Routes

The Han Kuang exercises will also test Taiwan’s ability to maintain maritime supply routes during a conflict.

The navy and coast guard will conduct joint operations using troops, equipment and live ammunition to rehearse coast guard vessel refits, coastal strike missions, maritime law enforcement operations and escorts for shipments of critical supplies.

The drills come as Taiwanese authorities report increased Chinese coast guard activity around the island, raising concerns that Beijing could intensify pressure near Taiwan’s eastern coastline and disrupt supply routes in the Pacific.

Mobile Data Speeds to Be Reduced During Resilience Exercise

Separately, Taiwan’s National Communications Commission said mobile data services will be throttled for 30 minutes across 14 cities and counties in northern and central Taiwan during Urban Resilience Exercises held alongside Han Kuang.

The change will limit 4G and 5G data speeds to around 1% capacity, preventing the use of high-bandwidth applications like video calls, live streaming and social media that use lots of images. Voice calls, text messaging, emergency alerts and emergency service communications will remain functional.

Officials stressed that this move is not an ‘Internet shutdown’ but a resilience drill to help the residents prepare for any disruptions to mobile networks and also learn other ways of communication during an emergency.

The larger-scale resilience drills will also involve civilian evacuation exercises, as well as increased emergency medical response skills and testing of the ability to deliver medical supplies and other critical equipment using a drone.

Taiwan Boosts Defense Readiness

Taiwan’s government has stepped up its civil defense and military preparedness amid high tension across the Strait of Taiwan. In recent years, the island has also seen multiple cuttings to the undersea communications cables, which are vital to the island’s operations, in addition to the traditional military defense.

Han Kuang exercises are the biggest military drills held annually in Taiwan, and they typically depend on scenarios to test the military’s readiness to respond in case of an attack, as well as to coordinate response efforts among civilian and government agencies.