Taiwan is moving from theory to practice in its preparations for a potential conflict with China, deliberately slowing parts of its mobile internet and investing heavily in military drones as part of a whole-of-society defense strategy that raises both security and pastoral questions for Christians at home and abroad.
During recent civil defense exercises, authorities carried out short, scheduled throttling of mobile data across central Taiwan, leaving millions unable to stream video or make high-bandwidth calls for about half an hour as officials tested backup communication systems and public response to disruptions likely in wartime. The first nationwide mobile network slowdown drill, described by Premier Cho Jung-tai as “a network slowdown, not an internet shutdown,” reduced 4G and 5G capacity for 30 minutes and was expected to affect around 17 million people, roughly 73 percent of the population, in order to assess whether government services and daily life could continue under severe communications strain. Taiwan’s National Communications Commission urged residents to save key information such as maps and shelter locations on their phones before upcoming air-raid drills in August, when simulated internet disruptions will again be introduced in central and northern regions.
These measures are part of a broader set of Urban Resilience Exercises that Taiwan’s government has begun running alongside its large-scale Han Kuang military drills, under the oversight of the Whole-of-Society Defense Resilience Committee chaired by President Lai Ching-te. Officials say the resilience drills increase the portion devoted to armed conflict scenarios, focusing on civilian evacuation, hospital capacity for mass casualties, emergency medical stations, traffic control, and what they call “psychological hardening” of the population. President Lai has emphasized that all 22 cities and counties will conduct air-raid shelter and civil defense drills simultaneously to test coordination between central and local governments in “extreme scenarios,” underscoring a view of defense that includes schools, businesses, and religious institutions alongside the armed forces. A national security official further outlined that this year’s program will include both tabletop and hands-on exercises, covering protection of critical infrastructure, responses to cyberattacks, setting up medical stations and supply depots, and operating drones, signaling how civilian and military roles are being woven together.
At the same time, Taiwan’s defense leadership is leaning into drones as the centerpiece of an asymmetric strategy meant to deter or complicate any potential Chinese invasion. Defense Minister Wellington Koo has said drone development is the primary focus of this asymmetric warfare approach, which seeks to counter the far larger People’s Liberation Army with agile, survivable systems rather than matching conventional platforms one for one. Earlier, domestically produced drones were publicly showcased as part of this concept, with then-President Tsai Ing-wen promoting asymmetric warfare to make Taiwan’s forces more nimble and less vulnerable to attack. Analysts point to systems such as the Teng Yun II medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicle and the Chien Hsiang loitering munition, designed for surveillance, electronic attack, and long-range strikes on high-value targets, as examples of how drones now anchor Taiwan’s planning.
One influential proposal from defense researchers describes a “hellscape” concept of operations that would rely on dense, multidirectional fire from aerial, surface, and underwater drones, combined with missiles, mines, and mobile air defenses, to attrite any approaching Chinese invasion fleet and disrupt its carefully choreographed amphibious landing. In this vision, long-range drones and uncrewed platforms would strike and harass ships at distance, while mines and one-way attack drones would slow and channel landing craft closer to shore, and short-range drones would target vessels and equipment in the final kilometers before the beaches. Commentators note that Taiwan’s ramp-up in drone production has been inspired in part by battlefield lessons from Ukraine, where relatively inexpensive unmanned systems have significantly shaped modern warfare and shown how weaker states can impose real costs on larger aggressors.