Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te presided over the island’s military conducting live-fire drills with U.S.-manufactured Abrams M1A2T tanks on Thursday. This event was part of annual exercises designed to enhance its defense capabilities against China.

Lai observed as four tanks executed firing drills individually, in pairs, and collectively at a testing ground south of Taipei during the second day of the 10-day Han Kuang exercises, which are Taiwan’s most prolonged to date. The tanks engaged both static and dynamic targets with impeccable precision, achieving a perfect hit rate, according to the army.

Lai described this year’s exercises as “large-scale, realistic combat drills.”

“With our military becoming stronger, the nation, society, and citizens will be more secure. Once our homeland is protected, the peace and stability of the Indo-Pacific region will be reinforced,” President Lai remarked to troops and reporters at the base in Hsinchu County.

China has threatened to use force to bring Taiwan under its control, harassing the island on a near-daily basis with balloons and military ships in nearby waters.

M1A2T Abrams main battle tanks are prepared for a military live-fire shooting training in Hsinchu County, Taiwan, Thursday, July 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)

Beijing has derided the war exercises as a farce that will have no effect on its determination to take over the island, whose population overwhelmingly rejects unification with China.

The U.S. is Taiwan’s largest supplier of imported defensive weaponry and is bound by law to consider threats to the island a matter of “major concern,” although it remains deliberately unclear whether it would deploy forces to counter a Chinese attack.