Taiwan drills to test relocating arms production under Chinese attack

(Reuters)

TAIPEI, July 28 – Taiwan will test relocating weapons production lines and converting civilian factories for military use ‌in annual drills next month, the defence ministry said on Tuesday, aiming to sustain combat operations if Chinese attacks hit supply hubs.

The exercise, part of the annual Han Kuang war games from August 5 to 14, will simulate China using routine military drills to conceal preparations for ​a full invasion of Taiwan, prompting the island’s armed forces to immediately raise combat readiness and conduct rapid-response ​drills.

The drill will test whether Taiwan can disperse industrial production while maintaining output needed to support ⁠its armed forces in a conflict, according to the ministry’s planning outline.

The focus reflects one of Taiwan’s central wartime ​concerns — that China, which claims the democratically governed island as its own, would seek to paralyse command centres, ports, logistics sites ​and defence industry facilities early in any attack. Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, saying only the people of Taiwan can decide their future.

The drills assume “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 General Lu Wen-yuan, head of the Joint Operations Division, told a press briefing.