Taiwan’s military drills suggest deeper alignment with the U.S.

Taiwan’s military drills suggest deeper alignment with the U.S. 0 seconds of 58 secondsVolume 0% Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts Keyboard ShortcutsEnabledDisabled Shortcuts Open/Close/ or ? Play/PauseSPACE Increase Volume↑ Decrease Volume↓ Seek Forward→ Seek Backward← Captions On/Offc Fullscreen/Exit Fullscreenf Mute/Unmutem Decrease Caption Size- Increase Caption Size+ or = Seek %0-9 Next Up Annual bridge-diving competition takes place in Kosovo 00:58 Subtitle Settings OffEnglish(US)_v Font Color White Font Opacity 100% Font Size 100% Font Family Arial Character Edge None Edge Color Black Background Color Black Background Opacity 50% Window Color Black Window Opacity 0% Reset WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan 100%75%50%25% 200%175%150%125%100%75%50% ArialCourierGeorgiaImpactLucida ConsoleTahomaTimes New RomanTrebuchet MSVerdana NoneRaisedDepressedUniformDrop Shadow WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan 100%75%50%25%0% WhiteBlackRedGreenBlueYellowMagentaCyan 100%75%50%25%0% 00:00 00:58 00:58 More Videos 00:58 Annual bridge-diving competition takes place in Kosovo 00:40 Singapore bans 2 Massive Attack members after pro-Palestine display at concert 01:55 Trump says Gulf leaders' input weighed heavily in decision to hold off on ordering new Iran strikes 01:16 Scientists certain a SpaceX rocket slammed into the moon as predicted after drifting off course 00:58 Senior FIFA executive says staff were deceived over Infantino's World Cup sell-off plan 00:42 Tibetans protest in Mumbai against China's new 'ethnic unity' law 01:44 Home where astronaut Neil Armstrong's boyhood dreams of flying took off is for sale 01:59 Testing vaccines to intercept brewing colon cancer before it takes root Close 1 of 3 | Taiwan kicked off annual military exercises Wednesday aimed at simulating a response to a potential Chinese invasion of the self-governed island Beijing claims as its own. (AP Video by Johnson Lai and production by Naeun Kim) 2 of 3 | Soldiers conduct shooting training during the annual Han Kuang military exercises in Taipei, Taiwan, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying) 3 of 3 | Soldiers conduct team training on a mortar during the annual Han Kuang military exercises in Taipei, Taiwan, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying) By Simina Mistreanu Updated 11:41 AM MESZ, August 6, 2026 Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Taipei, Taiwan (AP) — Through this year’s military drills, Taiwan has chosen to emphasize its army’s and society’s flexibility and resilience as opposed to primarily putting advanced weapons on display. Experts say the exercises’ structure indicate closer ties with the U.S. military in the face of China’s ongoing military threat. The annual Huang Kuang drills kicked off on Wednesday and are set to extend through Aug. 14 in various locations around the island. The live-fire exercises will test the Taiwanese army’s ability to sustain 24-hour defense operations as well as counter China’s “gray-zone tactics,” which stop just short of open warfare. China claims the self-ruled democracy as its own territory, and has not renounced the use of force to bring it under its control. Taiwan dismisses China’s claims and insists it is a sovereign state. The United States, while not recognizing Taiwan as a country, sees all threats to the island as a matter of great concern. Washington is bound by its own laws to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself. The drills show closer ties with the U.S. military While there has long been speculation that the U.S. military has been quietly training Taiwanese troops, the collaboration between the two sides has been more visible in recent weeks. A key component of the Han Kuang drills, for example, is the practice of a U.S.-inspired military communications method called backbriefing, where subordinates explain to commanders how they plan to carry out assigned missions. Taiwan kicks off annual military drills to counter a potential Chinese attack 1 MIN READ US is ready to help end the ‘senseless war’ in Ukraine but no quick deal ahead, Rubio says 5 MIN READ China and Japan differ on whether their foreign ministers spoke last week at ASEAN 5 MIN READ The communication drills are intended to encourage first-line fighters to be more self-reliant and effective in battle, experts say. “The most important new development in this year’s Han Kuang is the incorporation of American-style military training methods, which are aimed at enhancing the coordination and combat readiness of the Taiwanese military,” said William Yang, a senior Northeast Asia analyst for the International Crisis Group. The drills thus “stay away from the mostly performative tasks of firepower display” of past years and instead focus on building real combat capabilities, Yang added. Another focus of this year’s drills is that they will mobilize one of the largest numbers yet of reservists, of around 20,000 personnel, according to local media. Taiwan’s Defense Ministry did not say how many reservists will be involved in the drills. The emphasis on reserves illustrates Taiwan’s efforts to address the military power asymmetry between itself and China, Yang said. China maintains the world’s largest army, of more than 2 million active-duty personnel, almost nine times the size of Taiwan’s active-duty armed forces. Another focus of the military drills, reflecting Taiwan’s longstanding emphasis on civil defense, are urban resilience drills. These will take place on different days in the major cities of Kaohsiung, Taichung and the capital, Taipei. During the drills, mobile internet speed will be reduced for about 30 minutes to simulate telecommunications interference in case of an attack. The emphasis on combat readiness and civilian preparedness reflect Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te’s priorities amid political constraints, said Lev Nachman, a political science professor at National Taiwan University. Lai has sought to pass a $40 billion special defense budget for U.S. arms purchases and local defense manufacturing. A much smaller version of the budget, of $24.8 billion, was eventually approved by the opposition-controlled parliament. “Given that Lai has been constrained on his ability to pass a budget that could even supply the kinds of weapons he would want to test, he has had to look to what he is able to do given the domestic political gridlock,” Nachman said. Despite closer informal ties between the U.S. and Taiwan militaries, questions remain around a massive $14 billion arms sales package to Taiwan that U.S. President Donald Trump has yet to approve. After traveling to China in May, Trump described arms sales to Taiwan as a “very good negotiating chip” with Beijing, raising anxieties on the island about continued U.S. support. Trump also said after his summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping that he does not want to “travel 9,500 miles (15,300 kilometers) to fight a war” over Taiwan. In that context, seeing the U.S. influence on Taiwan’s military drills offers a “silver lining” in terms of Washington’s commitment to Taiwan, Nachman said. “Even though Trump and those close to him have flip-flopped on supporting Taiwan, the connection between the two militaries remains strong, enough to at least ensure that Taiwan is still able to learn at a high level from the U.S.,” he said. Simina Mistreanu Mistreanu is a Greater China reporter for The Associated Press, based in Taipei, Taiwan. She has reported on China since 2015. twitter mailto