Taiwan’s presidential office held a “tabletop” exercise on Thursday simulating military escalations by China, a first-of-its-kind drill involving government agencies beyond the armed forces that highlights Taipei’s urgency in ensuring preparedness against an increasingly assertive Beijing.

Taiwan’s presidential office conducted its first-ever "tabletop" exercises involving government agencies without military participation. The goal was to simulate a military escalation with China amid fresh threats from Beijing,

Taiwan's Presidential Office staged a simulation of China's military actions in the region to boost the island's readiness against "authoritarian expansion."

Taiwan aims to involve a range of people, including taxi drivers and security guards, to respond to emergencies.

The Chinese government placed sanctions on seven companies on Friday in response to recent U.S. announcements of military sales and aid to Taiwan, the self-governing island that China claims as part of its territory.

Taiwan has blocked Uber Technologies' $950 million purchase of Delivery Hero's Foodpanda business on the island because of concerns it would be anti-competitive, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said on Wednesday.

Delivery Hero SE shares fell the most in two weeks in the first day of trading after Taiwan blocked the sale of its subsidiary there to Uber Technologies Inc.