DEFENSE/Presidential Office simulation shows need for better government coordination

Taipei, Dec. 26 (CNA) Central and local governments will need to improve their coordination to better defend Taiwan, Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆), deputy secretary-general of the National Security Council, said Thursday following a "tabletop simulation" at the Presidential Office.

Although emergency response protocols are well established in Taiwan, various government agencies at different levels need to enhance their ability to coordinate and communicate more effectively during emergencies, Lin said as he presented the result of the exercise.

At the moment, each agency tends to approach issues separately without considering how they can collaborate with each other and improve their "response to complex threats," Lin said.

Thursday's activity also exposed potential manpower shortages the Ministry of the Interior, which is in charge of the nation's law enforcement agencies, fire departments and air service corps, among others, could face, Lin added, without elaborating.

The exercise, the first of its kind, was designed to test Taiwanese society's response "on the verge of conflict" with China, when Beijing has "vowed to take full control of the first island chain" and stepped up "gray-zone" activities, he said.

Those activities, usually coercive actions short of an invasion, include military intimidation, diplomatic pressure, cyberattacks and cognitive warfare against Taiwan, according to Lin.

Lin's comments were made during the second meeting of the Presidential Office's Whole-of-Society Defense Resilience Committee, an advisory group that provides policy ideas and suggestions to the Cabinet.

The three-hour exercise brought together Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), other top central and local government officials, as well as members of the ad-hoc committee, to examine existing mechanisms and explore possible response, Lin said.

According to Lin, the exercise was mainly about group discussions and no party played the red team.

Speaking before the committee convened, President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) announced that the annual air-raid and disaster response drills, namely the Wan An and Min An exercises, would be reconstituted into "urban resilience exercises" (城鎮韌性演習) in 2025.

The exercises next year will be carried out without relying on the support of the military and will draw on the latest practices from the international community to test the civil defense ability of the country, Lai said.

As Taiwan becomes stronger and more resilient, international partners sharing similar values will be more willing to assist the country in tackling various challenges, the president added.