TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan plans to hold 2025 Urban Resilience Drills (城鎮韌性演習) in March this year, according to a media report in early January. The new drills aim to enhance societal functions during war or major disasters without relying on military support.
President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) announced a significant shift in its national defense strategy last December, by integrating the Wan An (萬安) and Min An (民安) exercises into the 2025 Urban Resilience Drills. President Lai revealed at the second meeting of the Whole-of-Society Defense Resilience Committee (全民防衛韌性委員會).
In the meeting, President Lai highlighted that authoritarian regimes threaten international order, challenging peace and stability in the first island chain. He emphasized that Taiwan's efforts align with international expectations, encouraging resilience through non-military sector protection mechanisms.
Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a research fellow of the Institute for Institue for National Defense and Security Research (國防院), explained that the exercises will cover high-intensity gray zone operations and near-conflict states, focusing on integrating disaster prevention and key infrastructure damage mechanisms. The Ministry of the Interior (MOI, 內政部) plans to establish regional disaster collaboration centers across 368 townships to integrate 400,000 civilian forces, boosting disaster response capabilities.
Ming Chuan University (銘傳大學) Professor Shao Pei-jun (邵珮君) suggested using Japan's national resilience plan as a reference, emphasizing pre-disaster preparation and evacuation shelters. Shao further noted the importance of understanding different response measures for natural and war-related disasters.
Lu Te-yun (盧德允), a former Ministry of National Defense (MND, 國防部) inspector, stressed the need for the government to transform disaster response concepts into actionable public knowledge to ensure intuitive reactions.
The upcoming drills, designed with international experience, will operate independently from but support the Han Kuang (漢光) exercises. They aim to attract global partners and reinforce Taiwan's defense capabilities.