By Yi-Chin Lee and Angie Teo
TAIPEI, Aug 13 (Reuters) – Air raid sirens rang out and streets emptied in Taiwan’s capital Taipei on Thursday during annual air raid drills that also included the government deliberately limiting mobile internet access to simulate what might happen in the event of a Chinese attack.
Taiwan, which China views as its own territory, is approaching the end of its 10-day-long annual Hang Kuang war games, where the military has practised fighting a Chinese invasion and the government has alongside it held civil defence drills.
On Monday, the government held its first ever mobile internet “throttling” exercise, in central Taiwan, with the exercise repeated in the northern part of the island on Thursday afternoon.
Lasting 30 minutes, mobile internet speeds slowed dramatically, though fixed-line internet and Wi-Fi were not affected.
Police ushered people off the streets to seek shelter indoors during the mock air attack, with buses and cars pulling to the side of the road.
DIPLOMATS ACCOMPANY PRESIDENT
Earlier in the day, Taiwan President Lai Ching-te visited an underground car park at a hospital in Taipei’s neighbouring city of New Taipei that had been turned into an emergency ward, and a supermarket to see how provisions would be distributed in an emergency.
Lai was accompanied by senior foreign diplomats based in Taiwan, including the de facto U.S., Israeli and Canadian ambassadors. Taiwan has been keen to learn from Israel about its civil defence operations.
“We are not facing regional geopolitical changes alone, but together with the shared concern and joint efforts of the international community,” Lai said at the supermarket, of the presence of the diplomats.
Taiwan’s democratically elected government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims.
ANTI-BLOCKADE NAVAL DRILL
The military parts of the exercises have also continued.
On Wednesday, the armed forces carried out an anti-blockade drill during annual war games, using the navy and coast guard to simulate escorting a merchant ship.
Taiwan has long been concerned that Beijing could try to choke off the island with a blockade or quarantine to force it into surrender.
In June, China began holding what it calls “law enforcement” patrols off Taiwan’s east coast, to the anger of Taipei and prompting concern in Washington and some other Western capitals.
The navy worked with coast guard vessels to complete the escort and security protection duties, while a minesweeper cleared a safe navigation channel and guided the simulated merchant vessel to port, Taiwan’s defence ministry said in a statement.
Taiwan’s coast guard, which would have an auxiliary role helping the navy in time of war, said the drill took place on Wednesday and the ports the ship was taken to were both on the east coast.
It said it was the first time they had worked with the navy to hold an anti-blockade drill.
(Reporting by Yi-Chin Lee and Angie Teo; Additional reporting and writing by Ben Blanchard, and Ann Wang in New Taipei; Editing by Lincoln Feast)
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