Asia18 September, 20262 min read
Taiwan Stages Live-Fire Drills With Missiles And Attack Drones Ahead Of Trump-Xi Summit
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Taiwan staged live-fire drills with missiles and attack drones ahead of Trump-Xi talks First joint combat drill using multiple types of attack drones conducted by Taiwan
Drones and missiles before summit
Taiwan staged live-fire drills with missiles and attack drones as Donald Trump prepares to host China’s Xi Jinping in Washington next week, with Taiwan expected to feature in the talks as Beijing presses the US over its military support for the self-governed island. The drills included Taiwan’s first joint combat exercise using multiple types of attack drones, with President Lai Ching-te saying the exercises showed the armed forces were adapting to the needs of modern warfare. Overseeing the drills in the far south of Taiwan, Lai said precision firing exercises are crucial for testing weapon effectiveness and that the coordinated use of unmanned vehicles with conventional weapons reflects the adaptation to modern warfare.
“Taiwan has staged live-fire drills with missiles and attack drones as Donald Trump prepares to host China’s Xi Jinping in Washington next week.”
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported the three days of drills included launches of domestically developed Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missiles and Lockheed Martin-made HIMARS rockets. The AP-linked account in the Edwardsville Intelligencer said Taiwan conducted military drills featuring missiles and drones on Friday ahead of the summit next week in the U.S. between President Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping.
Lai’s message and China’s pressure
President Lai Ching-te said the drills showcased the Taiwanese army’s modernization, and he described the coordinated use of unmanned vehicles with conventional weapons as reflecting adaptation to modern warfare. The Edwardsville Intelligencer reported that the statement did not specify what types of drones were being tested in the southern Pingtung county. China claims Taiwan as its own breakaway province and hasn’t renounced the use of force to bring it under its control, and Beijing has pushed Trump to take a stronger stance opposing Taiwan’s independence, according to the AP-linked account.
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser said Lai and his government reject Beijing’s sovereignty claims, saying only Taiwan’s people can decide their future. The Al Jazeera report framed the timing as Taiwan flexing military capabilities ahead of Trump-Xi talks, with Taiwan expected to feature in the talks.
What comes next for Taiwan
The Edwardsville Intelligencer said the leaders of the U.S. and China are set to meet on Sept. 24 for the first time since May, and it described Taiwan’s drills as occurring on Friday ahead of that summit.
“Lai said the military is accelerating its combat capabilities to show Taiwan ‘has the confidence and capability to defend national sovereignty and fulfill its responsibility for regional peace and stability.’”
The AP-linked account said Taiwan’s military drills included for the first time joint combat exercises featuring multiple types of attack drones, and it said the military also launched multiple anti-air, anti-ship and anti-landing missiles as part of the exercises.
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Lai said the military is accelerating its combat capabilities to show Taiwan “has the confidence and capability to defend national sovereignty and fulfill its responsibility for regional peace and stability.”
It also said Lai was accompanied by Defense Minister Wellington Koo and other senior security officials, and that Kuan Bi-ling, head of Taiwan’s Ocean Affairs Council, runs the Coast Guard.
The Edwardsville Intelligencer added that Taiwan’s army will continue staging drills next week, including newly bought U.S.-made HIMARS rocket systems and Stinger missile simulators among other types of equipment.