Key facts
- Taiwan's Han Kuang military exercises concluded, featuring civil defense tests.
- For the first time, mobile internet speeds were deliberately slowed to simulate communication disruption.
- The drill aimed to assess public readiness for potential cyberattacks and information blockades by China.
- Phone calls and SMS text messaging remained functional during the internet speed reduction.
- Similar exercises were conducted across 14 cities and counties in northern and central Taiwan.
Taiwan concluded its annual Han Kuang military exercises and civil defense tests on Friday, which included unprecedented drills aimed at assessing the island's readiness against a potential invasion or blockade by China. For the first time, authorities deliberately slowed mobile internet speeds to simulate communication disruptions in the event of simulated air attacks on infrastructure.
The goal of the internet throttling exercise was to test the public's psychological and logistical readiness under a potential information blockade. For 30 minutes in Taipei and other parts of northern Taiwan, public 4G and 5G download speeds plummeted to 1% of normal capacity, rendering bandwidth-heavy services like streaming and large file transfers unusable, though phone calls and SMS remained functional. Similar exercises were conducted days earlier in central Taiwan.
While the drills are a yearly occurrence amid growing threats from Beijing, observers noted a lack of urgency among some residents, who treated the exercises as a minor inconvenience. However, defense analysts emphasize the reality of cyberattacks and communication blackouts as likely opening tactics by China, drawing parallels to Russia's cyberattack during the initial phase of the Ukraine war.
Authorities stated the drills were designed to encourage citizens to prepare alternative means of communication, such as long-range, low-power radio signals, as part of Taiwan's efforts to strengthen civil resilience. Experts believe that repeated exercises are necessary to raise public awareness and test backup systems for potential emergencies.