Send a clear message to China

He Taipéi Metro It has a vast network of roads, stations and wagons that cover a good part of the bustling metropolitan area of the Taiwanese capital. So far exceptional or that cannot be found in the suburban of other large cities, such as Paris, Madrid or New York. What is much less common is what was lived there on Monday At dawn: instead of passengers loaded with wallets and suitcases, the stations of Taipéi began to arrive military, soldiers and more soldiers armed with anti -tank missiles.

The reason: send a message inside and outside the country.

Uniforms in the subway. In the Taipéi subway it is usual to see parents with children, people brought from the office, schoolchildren, tourists pulling suitcases or with the camera hanging around the neck … normal in any urban transport network. On Monday at dawn, however, in the city’s cars and stations, it could be seen Something different: Armed military, anti -tank missiles and army commands by displacing ammunition and food from the outskirts of the city.

The department of National defense Taiwanés and his Military News Agency They were responsible for disseminating photos in which armed military is seen in the capital’s metro network. In the operation, Precise Business Insidersoldiers of the Military Police and the third command of the Army participated. The maneuvers concentrated on the heart of the Taipéi Transport Network, between the Shandao and Longshan temple stations, a route that passes through the main station.

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Why’s that? It is not that the Chinese army progresses towards Taiwan or the island authorities have proof of some new imminent threat. Monday’s military deployment in the Taipéi subway is part of Han Kuangmilitary exercises with which Taiwan intends to be prepared in case of attack by the Chinese Liberation Army (EPL). The maneuvers themselves are not a novelty. The Han Kuang have been held every year for several decades. What is striking this year is its scope and especially the staging.

Means like The BBC either Reuters They point out that it is the drill of greater draft and duration made to date, with a deployment significantly greater than last year. Han Kuang will last 10 days (from July 9 to 18), almost double that in 2024, during which the military will display drones, launcher and missiles, including the Himars launch system supplied by the United States. As for the number of mobilized troops, the maneuvers will participate 22,000 reservists50% more than in 2024.

To the house door. The Han Kuang of 2025 (and especially the deployment of Monday morning at the Taipéi Metro) stands out for something else: its visibility. And not only for the gallery or Beijing, but towards the civilian population itself. As Point out Financial Timesthe army wanted to bring its “preparations” for a possible Chinese invasion to the doors of citizens. It is no longer about deploying soldiers in ports or fields, but about mobilizing them in the subway stations, in the caps and before the coffee shops where the Taiwanese have breakfast.

“If there is ever a war, they will fight right here,” Recognize An old man from Taipéi to the British newspaper. It is about increasing the public awareness of what would mean an attack on the island, better prepare the population and also prove the use of public transport in case of emergency. Monday’s maneuver It also served so that the military learn to operate in the subway if necessary and “use underground facilities to move troops.”

“We are learning from Ukraine”. Not all operations have been carried out in the Taipéi subway. Throughout the last days the Taiwanese army has simulated attacks on infrastructure, decentralized operations, drills of “Urban Resilience” and maneuvers areas and naval to defend the coast. On Monday For example, Taiwan lived live a mines placement exercise to demonstrate his ability to respond to a hypothetical amphibious assault of the EPL.

The country also wants to try high mobility artillery rocket system (Himars), by Lockheed Martin, in addition to Earth-Aire missiles Sky Sword. “We are learning from the situation in Ukraine in recent years and thinking realistically about what Taiwan could face in a real combat,” Explain To the Reuters agency an official of the Taiwan defense area, who also reveals that one of the priorities is to protect communications. “The commanders should consider the problems that their troops would face.”

“It will never succeed”. It is not causality that Taipéi has decided to strengthen Han Kuang right now. China sees Taiwan as A rebel territory And he aspires to reunify it with the continent sooner or later, an objective that has led him to intensify the military pressure around the island in the last five years. In May the US Secretary of Defense assured That Beijing raises “invading” the island in 2027, and warned: “The EPL is trained for it, is rehearsing.”

With that complex backdrop, Taipéi seems determined to show (both inside and home) his ability to defense and response. From China you insist on the opposite message to reduce importance. “Taiwan’s attempt to seek independence through force or relying on foreign actors will never succeed,” He came to proclaim MAO NO, spokesman for the Foreign Affairs. The Government has already warned that, “no matter what weapons use”, “Taiwan cannot resist ELP’s back against independence.”

Images | Ministry of National Defense, Roc (Taiwan)

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