Taiwan must urgently overhaul its civil defence and rethink its energy strategy to withstand a potential blockade, experts warned at a tabletop exercise, describing existing preparedness as “too romantic” for a real-world crisis.
The two-day 2026 Political, Economic, Military and Societal Tabletop Exercise, held at National Chengchi University in Taipei last week, simulated a 2030 scenario in which shifting global alliances and regional conflicts left Taiwan’s energy and social systems acutely exposed.
Alexander Huang Chieh-cheng, a lead convenor and prominent security scholar, said Taiwan faced a widening “resilience gap”.
While the island had spent decades strengthening its military hardware, its social and critical infrastructure remained vulnerable to panic if peace was disrupted, Huang noted.
“Taiwan can suddenly change from a romantic society to a panicked society because we are unprepared,” Huang said during a session on whole-of-society defence resilience.
He criticised existing civil defence drills, such as the annual Wan An air raid exercise, as too predictable and fragmented.
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