Taiwan's Dramatic Preparations for Potential Chinese Invasion

Wed Oct 22 2025 05:59:13 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

Taiwan enacts military and civil defense drills, utilizing actors and mock scenarios, to prepare for possible aggression from China amid rising tensions.

Taiwan is intensifying its military readiness and civil defense drills as tensions escalate with China. Government-led exercises on the island include both military simulations and the participation of civilian volunteers, with many Taiwanese expressing skepticism over the likelihood of an invasion. While the government aims to bolster defense spending and military capabilities, public opinion remains mixed, reflecting a belief that immediate threats may be overstated.

It was just another Friday morning on the Taiwanese island of Kinmen, a few kilometres from the coast of China, when an air raid siren pierced the calm.

At a local government office, people switched off their lights and dove under tables. Others fled to an underground car park. At a nearby hospital, staff rushed to treat people staggering in with bloody injuries.

But the blood was fake, and the casualties were volunteer actors. Together with the government workers, they were taking part in mandatory civil defence and military drills held across Taiwan last month. The purpose? Rehearsing their response to a possible attack by China.

China has long vowed to reunify with self-governing Taiwan and has not ruled out the use of force. It is a threat that Taiwan is increasingly taking seriously. President William Lai, who took office last year, is behind one of the strongest pushes in years to strengthen defence.

One of his biggest challenges, however, is convincing his own people of the urgency. While his defence drive has garnered support, it has also sparked controversy.

We do need these defence drills, I believe there is some threat from China, says Ben, a finance professional who works in Taipei. But the chances of a Chinese invasion are low. If they really wanted to attack us, they would have done so already. Like Ben, most people in Taiwan – 65% according to a survey released in May by the military-affiliated Institute for National Defense and Strategic Research (INDSR) - believe it is unlikely that China will attack in the next five years.

This is despite the US warning that the threat to Taiwan was imminent and that Beijing is readying its military to be capable of invading by 2027.

Lai and his government often repeat a particular phrase to explain what is driving them: By preparing for war, we are avoiding war. They have stressed that they are not seeking conflict but exercising Taiwan's right to build up its defences.