Taiwan Slows Down Internet Amidst Ongoing War Games

Synopsis

Taiwan holds air drills along with its war games every year, clearing people from the streets for 30 minutes. In a recent drill, they proceeded to “throttle” the internet connection in order to prepare its people for a similar situation that they might have to face in case war breaks out.

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Preparing for War

On August 10, 2026, air raid sirens rang in Taichung, Central Taiwan, and people were asked to clear the streets as the government shared direct text messages to locals around 2:30 pm (06:30 GMT) in English and Mandarin (Chinese language) for "simulated air attacks on communication infrastructure".

During this drill, when the internet was slowed down, only basic cellular devices worked, whereas other functions like ATMs, traffic lights, and fixed internet services were unaffected and worked just fine.

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The government had already prepared the people for the drill way before it actually took place by posting and circulating it widely over social media.

Why Internet Suddenly Slowed?

Taiwan’s government said that the slowdown of the internet drill is intended to prepare the public for possible disruptions during an actual war.

Taiwanese security expert Lin Hong-chun said, "Like with the Russia-Ukraine war, they had no internet. Also, maybe because Taiwan is a bit more at risk, this kind of drill might let everyone understand the current situation at that moment, what might happen and how to respond."

Even if people were generally supportive, there were some discrepancies at the beginning.

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On August 13, 2026, the same activity will be repeated in northern Taiwan, including the capital Taipei.

The Taiwan Strait Drill

The 10-day Hun Kuang exercise kicked off last week, which aims to prepare the public in case of a possible Chinese attack.

Troops from the First Theatre Command opened fire in the pre-dawn hours on a beach in Penghu, which sits in the Taiwan Strait, with M60A3 tanks, various artillery pieces and anti-aircraft guns.

The troops were combining to form what the military called a "multi-layered" defence in order to avert an enemy which might be attempting a rapid coastal landing.

Penghu, which is closer to the coast of the main island of Taiwan than to China, is seen by the Taiwanese strategists as a ‘potential first target for Beijing to invade the territory and use it as a base to launch attacks on Taiwan’.

Why the Drills?

China has always considered Taiwan a part of it. However, Taiwan which has its own constitution and a democratically elected government thinks of itself as an independent state. This dispute between the two has long caused strain in their relationship with China wanting to take Taiwan under its control and Taiwan refusing to do so. Therefore, in order to strengthen their stance on the matter and While tensions remain high and China routinely conducts military patrols and live-fire drills near the island, Taiwan has been actively holding its annual large-scale military and civil defence exercises.