The tanks and armoured vehicles rolled onto the sandy beach in the dead of night on Taiwan’s Kinmen island, lying in wait for the signal.

Within minutes, the order came over the loudspeaker, and the drills began with a series of huge explosions shaking the ground of this small island, located just two kilometres from China.

The rumbling thunder of rockets being launched towards the water could be heard from the edge of the beach. Seconds later, the sound of machine guns and a howitzer split the air while lasers lit up the night sky with orange lines.

The drills taking place at the Houhu Seaside Park on Kinmen’s east coast are part of Taiwan’s annual Han Kuang military drills. They are hosted there to showcase its military prowess and prepare its troops in the event of a Chinese invasion.

This year, the exercises are the biggest and longest ever, with more than 22,000 reservists deployed for 10 days of weapons training as well as a wide range of field exercises, which have included running through Taipei’s subway system in the middle of the night.

The drills on Kinmen are particularly important, given that its proximity to China has earned it the label of Taiwan’s “front line”.

However, those who live on Kinmen, including the troops, believe that this designation may no longer be valid; with some of the world’s most advanced weapons, if China wanted to attack Taiwan today, it could go straight for the jugular and hit the capital, Taipei.

“In the past, the military technology was not that advanced so the Chinese communists could only bomb Kinmen Island, but now they can launch missiles across the ocean, even to the United States,” said Yu-Jen Chen, who represents Kinmen in Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan – similar to a member of parliament in the UK.

As part of this year’s larger Han Kuang drills, they will also involve “unscripted” portions to more accurately simulate what would happen in the event of an attack.

On Kinmen, this means that some of the soldiers participating in the night-time drills have not been told key information in advance.

“They will only be deployed to the beach, when they receive the order from their commanders,” said a military source who spoke on the condition of anonymity as they are not authorised to speak to the media.

“Previously they would have a planned mobilisation, but this time they don’t have an arranged deployment.”

Similar to the rest of Han Kuang, the drills on Kinmen this year are the largest ever, with all 3,000 soldiers stationed on the island taking part.

There will also be continuous shooting across the main island, neighbouring Lesser Kinmen and nine surrounding islets, marking the first time all 12 are using live fire.

“This is the biggest one in history. While the islets have been included as part of the annual Han Kuang in the past, this year we made adjustments to have simultaneous live-firing on all of them,” Lt Gen Wang Shi-Tu, commander of the Kinmen Defense Command, told The Telegraph.

“This is because of the threats, especially the threats coming from the other side of the Taiwan Strait.”

China claims Taiwan as part of its territory, a stance which the government in Taipei rejects, and has not ruled out the use of force to “reunify” the country.

However, those who live in Kinmen don’t believe that the drills are all that useful.

“I was joking with a general who said that if a war happens they will mobilise their troops to hide in the mountains so we can avoid escalating the battle and minimise the destruction on Kinmen,” said Wang Song-Wei, who works at the Kinmen county government.

There used to be approximately 100,000 troops stationed on Kinmen Island, but over the years this number has decreased to the 3,000 or so here today – hardly enough to defend the island against China’s strength of more than two million. Legislator Chen explained that having fewer troops on Kinmen makes the island less of a target.

The island also doesn’t look the way you would imagine a frontline to look.

Former military bases have been turned into museums, with artillery used in tourist showcases and old tanks left outside to rust and decay.

All of this is compounded by the greatest disadvantage facing Kinmen – that it would more or less be left to fend for itself in the event of an attack.

Legislator Chen said that the “official attitude” from the ministry of national defence in Taipei is that if Kinmen were attacked, its people would have to “fight for ourselves independently”.

This sentiment was echoed by several residents across the island, including Jason Yang, who was born and raised on Kinmen, but before retiring served as one of the highest officials in the military’s combat unit on the main island.

“In the event of a possible confrontation with China, it would not be a priority for Taipei to send troops,” he said.

Mr Wang believes one of the reasons that Lai Ching-te, the Taiwan president, decided to increase the scale of the Han Kuang drills this year was to appeal to the United States and, as the “frontline”, Kinmen needed to be included.

The US has long maintained a principle of strategic ambiguity when it comes to Taiwan, refraining from asserting whether it would come to the country’s defence in the event of an attack.

The Pentagon has recently been pushing Japan and Australia to clarify what kind of role they would play if Taiwan was attacked.

One unnamed US official said that this was to ensure that “the United States and its allies have the military strength to underwrite diplomacy and guarantee peace”.

For his part, Anthony Albanese, the Australian prime minister, rebuffed the efforts, saying that his country would not join a “hypothetical” conflict with China over Taiwan.

President Donald Trump has echoed this position, while also pushing for Taiwan to do its own part to protect itself, including by increasing its defence budget.

“It is very likely Lai is trying to show off to Trump. He takes action based on loyalty. He wants people to grovel and that is what Lai is doing,” said Mr Wang.

While the threat of an invasion looms over many in Taipei, for those on Kinmen, they don’t believe China would attack “its own family”, as one resident put it.

Kinmen and Xiamen, the Chinese city closest to the island, are very close culturally and many residents on both sides have family on the other.

No one understands this better than Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, who served as vice-mayor of the coastal city during the 1980s.

The government in Beijing has been capitalising on these ties in recent years, adopting what has become known as the Kinmen Model. This refers to Chinese coast guard activities aimed at furthering legal cross-strait relations by removing Taipei’s authority over the Taiwan Strait.

China has deployed many vessels – both officially and unofficially – into the strait over the years as part of its “grey zone” efforts to intimidate and coerce Taiwan.

Given this, it came as little surprise to those gathered on the beach that the island’s largest drills to date began with the encroachment of a Chinese fishing boat.

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Taiwan deploys advanced US HIMARS rockets in annual drills

Taiwan's military began deploying one of its newest and most precise strike weapons on Saturday as part of intensifying drills meant to showcase the island's determination to resist any Chinese invasion.

Two armoured trucks with HIMARS - High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems - were seen manoeuvring around the city of Taichung near Taiwan's central coast on the fourth of 10 days of its most comprehensive annual Han Kuang exercises yet.

Fire simulation and some live-fire drills are expected next week as more air force planes and naval ships become involved.

In a wartime scenario, said a military officer at the site, it would be vital to conceal HIMARS from enemy aerial reconnaissance, satellites "or even enemy operatives behind our lines" until the order to fire was given.

China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own and has intensified military pressure around the island over the last five years, staging a string of intense war games and daily naval and air force patrols around the territory.

Taiwan's defence ministry said it had detected 14 Chinese air force sorties and nine naval ships around the island overnight. Nine of the sorties crossed the median line, the unofficial barrier between the two sides.

Taiwan rejects China's sovereignty claims, with President Lai Ching-te saying only Taiwan's people can decide their future.

China's defence ministry said this week the Han Kuang drills were "nothing but a bluff" while its foreign ministry said its opposition to U.S.-Taiwan military ties was "consistent and very firm".

Regional military attaches say the HIMARS deployment in a warlike exercise will be closely watched, given that they have been used extensively by Ukraine against Russian forces. Australia has also purchased the Lockheed Martin (LMT.N) systems.

Taiwan took delivery last year of the first 11 of 29 HIMARS units, testing them for the first time in May. With a range of about 300 km (190 miles), the weapons could strike coastal targets in China's southern province of Fujian on the other side of the Taiwan Strait.

Taiwanese military analysts say the weapon would be used with its locally developed Thunderbolt 2000 launchers so Chinese forces could be targeted as they left port or attempted to land on Taiwan's coast. A Thunderbolt unit was also seen in a park near the HIMARS units.

Senior Taiwanese military officials say the Han Kuang drills are unscripted and designed to replicate full combat conditions, starting with simulated enemy attacks on communications and command systems, leading to a full-blown invasion scenario.

Soldiers on Saturday also staged a blockade of the Tamsui River outside Taipei, deploying a string of explosive pontoons.

The drills aim to show China and the international community, including Taiwan's key weapons supplier the U.S., that Taiwan is determined to defend itself against any Chinese attack or invasion, the officials say.

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US demands clarity from allies over Taiwan

Taiwan's military began deploying armored trucks with one of its newest and most precise strike weapons on Saturday.

The vehicles with HIMARS - High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems - are taking part in intensifying drills meant to showcase the island's determination to resist any Chinese invasion.

This occurs as the Pentagon is urging Japan and Australia to clarify what role they would play if the U.S. and China went to war over Taiwan, according to a Financial Times report on Saturday.

Elbridge Colby, the U.S. under-secretary of defense for policy, has been pushing the matter during recent talks with defense officials of both countries, the report said, citing people familiar with the discussions.

According to the newspaper, the reported request caught Japan and Australia off guard, as the U.S. itself does not offer a blank check guarantee to defend Taiwan.

Colby said in an X post that the Department of Defense is focused on implementing the president's agenda which "includes by urging allies to step up their defense spending and other efforts related to our collective defense."

China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own and has intensified military pressure around the island over the last five years, staging a string of intense war games and daily naval and air force patrols around the territory.

Taiwan rejects China's sovereignty claims, with its president saying only Taiwan's people can decide their future.

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Pentagon presses Japan, Australia on role in possible Taiwan conflict

The Pentagon is reportedly pressuring Indo-Pacific allies Japan and Australia to clarify what roles they would play in the event of a war with China over Taiwan.

Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon’s policy chief, raised the question during recent meetings with Japanese and Australian defense officials, the Financial Times first reported.

While the United States has long urged Indo-Pacific allies to increase defense spending as China escalates its military activity around Taiwan, this push for specific wartime commitments is a new development — and reportedly caught foreign officials off guard.

Australia responded by stressing it would not commit troops in advance of any conflict.

"The decision to commit Australian troops to a conflict will be made by the government of the day, not in advance," Defense Minister Pat Conroy told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. "We won’t discuss hypotheticals."

Australia and the U.S. are currently leading a major joint exercise in Sydney involving 30,000 troops from 19 countries.

Pentagon officials have cited Nato’s efforts to boost European defense spending as a model for what Asian allies should consider. At the same time, Colby has advised European allies to prioritize threats closer to home rather than focus on the Indo-Pacific, sources told Fox News Digital.

"Some among our allies might not welcome frank conversations," Colby posted on X in response to the report.

"But as the department has made abundantly and consistently clear, we at DOD are focused on implementing the president’s America First, common-sense agenda of restoring deterrence and achieving peace through strength. That includes urging allies to step up their defense spending and other efforts related to our collective defense."

The question of allied commitments is further complicated by the U.S. policy of strategic ambiguity, under which Washington does not explicitly state whether it would defend Taiwan if China invades.

"As Secretary Hegseth said, the Department of Defense is focused on preventing war, with a strong shield of deterrence," Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell wrote on X in defense of Colby’s approach. "That requires strength — but it is a simple fact that our allies must also do their part. We do not seek war. What we are doing is ensuring the United States and its allies have the military strength to underwrite diplomacy and guarantee peace."

Former President Joe Biden had repeatedly said the U.S. would defend Taiwan, only for White House staff to later walk back those comments and insist that U.S. policy has not changed.

President Donald Trump has maintained the tradition of ambiguity, refusing to publicly declare how he would respond. However, new audio obtained by CNN revealed that Trump told donors last year he threatened both Russia and China with military force.

"With Putin I said, ‘If you go into Ukraine, I’m going to bomb the [expletive] out of Moscow,’" Trump said. "‘I’m telling you. I have no choice.’ And then [Putin] goes, like, ‘I don’t believe you.’ But he believed me 10%."

"I said the same thing to [Xi]," Trump added. "I said, ‘If you go into Taiwan, I’m going to bomb the [expletive] out of Beijing.' I said, 'I have no choice. I’ve got to bomb you.’"

At other times, Trump has criticized the cost of defending Taiwan and argued the island should dedicate 10% of its budget to defense.

Wargaming simulations suggest Japan would be the most crucial ally to the U.S. and Taiwan, as South Korea has not authorized American forces to launch combat operations from its territory. Australia does not permit permanent foreign military bases, but the U.S. is expanding its rotational presence at Australian facilities.

"Japan is always critical, and when I say critical, like we can't win the war without them," Mark Cancian, defense expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies who regularly briefs lawmakers on China wargames, told Fox News Digital.

"Their forces are important, but our ability to use our bases in Japan is critical," he said, adding that other U.S. bases in the Indo-Pacific like Guam were too far away to serve as a hub.

Whether Japan allows the U.S. to center its wartime operations on its territory would be a critical question certain to come up in preparations for a wartime contingency.

The U.S. and Japan have practiced moving forces down the Japanese Ryukyu island chain, the closest of which is only 80 miles off the coast of Taiwan.

Colby’s push for defined allied roles comes on the heels of his initiation of a review of the AUKUS security pact, which aims to supply Australia with U.S.-built nuclear-powered submarines.

The Pentagon recently defended Colby after reports emerged that he had temporarily halted military aid to Ukraine — an order quickly reversed by Trump.

Under the AUKUS agreement, Australia would purchase several Virginia-class submarines in the early 2030s, while a new class of submarines would be jointly developed by the U.S., U.K., and Australia. Production in Australia is expected to begin in the 2040s. However, the U.S. is already struggling to produce enough submarines for its own Navy.

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Australia fires first HIMARS long-range rocket in war game with US

Australia's army fired a truck-mounted long range rocket system that has become a priority for U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific for the first time on Monday, alongside U.S. and Singapore forces firing the same system in joint war games.

Armoured trucks with HIMARS - High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems that can reach 400 km (250 miles) - are in high demand in the Ukraine conflict and are also being acquired by U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific, including Australia, which is reshaping its forces to respond to China’s military build-up.

On the first day of Australia’s largest war games, "Talisman Sabre", the U.S., Australia, Japan, France, South Korea and Singapore held a live-fire exercise in northern Queensland involving U.S. F-35B fighter jets and land-based long-range strike rockets and missiles.

Up to 40,000 troops from 19 nations are taking part in Talisman Sabre, across thousands of kilometres from Australia's Indian Ocean territory of Christmas Island to the Coral Sea on Australia's east coast.

Australian Army Brigadier Nick Wilson, director general of the combined live-fire exercise, said it was the first time Australia, Singapore and the United States had fired HIMARS together, and the first firing by Australia on home soil.

"HIMARS will be utilised in conjunction with a number of other weapon platforms ... to ensure we have a strategy of denial for security, peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific," he told reporters on Monday.

The joint exercise at Shoalwater Bay in north Queensland was watched by Australian Governor General Sam Mostyn and Chief of Defence Admiral David Johnston.

Australia has previously said army regiments with HIMARS can be transported to neighbouring island states with defence agreements to protect its northern approaches in a conflict.

Lockheed Martin delivered the first two of 42 HIMARS launcher vehicles ordered by Australia in April.

Australia has said it will spend A$74 billion ($49 billion) on missiles over the next decade, including a new domestic manufacturing capability.

U.S. Army Lieutenant General Joel Vowell, deputy commanding general for the Pacific, said on Sunday the U.S. needed to work with partners in the Indo-Pacific, and that Talisman Sabre was "a deterrent mechanism because our ultimate goal is no war".

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Australia hosts largest-ever military exercise with 19 nations, likely to draw Chinese attention

South Korean soldiers fire from a K1 tank during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025, Australia's largest-ever war fighting drills at Shoalwater Bay Training Area, near Rockhampton, Australia, Monday, July 14, 2025.

The largest-ever war-fighting drills in Australia, Exercise Talisman Sabre, are underway and expected to attract the attention of Chinese spy ships.

Australia launched missiles from its M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, known as HIMARS, on Monday during live-fire exercises at the Shoalwater Bay Training Area, a 4,500 square kilometer (1,700 square mile) Outback expanse in Queensland state. The HIMARS launchers were recently bought from the United States.

"Today was the first time the Australian Army has live-fired our long-range, multi-domain platforms being the HIMARS, so it is a remarkable day," Brig. Nick Wilson told reporters.

Talisman Sabre began in 2005 as a biennial joint exercise between the United States and Australia.

This year, more than 35,000 military personnel from 19 nations, including Canada, Fiji, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Tonga, and the United Kingdom, will take part over three weeks, Australia’s defense department said.

Malaysia and Vietnam are also attending as observers.

The exercise will also take place in Papua New Guinea, Australia’s nearest neighbor. It is the first time Talisman Sabre activities have been held outside Australia.

Chinese surveillance ships have monitored naval exercises off the Australian coast during the last four Talisman Sabre exercises and were expected to surveil the current exercise, Defense Industry Minister Pat Conroy said.

“The Chinese military have observed these exercises since 2017. It’d be very unusual for them not to observe it,” Conroy said.

“We’ll adjust accordingly. We’ll obviously observe their activities and monitor their presence around Australia, but we’ll also adjust how we conduct those exercises,” Conroy added.

Conroy said the Chinese were not yet shadowing ships as of Sunday.

The exercise officially started on Sunday with a ceremony in Sydney attended by Deputy Commanding General of U.S. Army Pacific Lt. Gen. J.B. Vowell and Australia’s Chief of Joint Operations Vice-Adm. Justin Jones.

The exercise, showcasing Australia’s defense alliance with the United States, started a day after Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese began a six-day visit to China, where he is expected to hold his fourth face-to-face meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Tuesday.

Albanese said Chinese surveillance of Talisman Sabre would not be an issue raised with Xi.

“That would be nothing unusual. That has happened in the past and I’ll continue to assert Australia’s national interest, as I do,” Albanese told reporters in Shanghai Monday.

Albanese also noted that while he had visited the United States as prime minister five times, he had only been to China twice.

The Australian leader has been criticized at home for failing to secure a face-to-face meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump.

“I look forward to a constructive engagement with Donald Trump. We have had three constructive phone conversations,” Albanese said.

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Albanese avoids committing to military role as US presses Australia over potential Taiwan war

Australia has said it will not commit troops to any conflict in advance, responding to Pentagon queries asking the US ally to clarify what role it would play if China went to war over Taiwan.

Prime minister Anthony Albanese said that his country did not support “any unilateral action” on Taiwan and that its spending on both defence and aid was “about advancing peace and security in our region”.

“We have a clear position and we have been consistent about that … We don’t want any change in the status quo,” he said on Sunday, the first day of his visit to China.

His remarks come shortly after Australian acting defence minister Pat Conroy said that Australia prioritises its sovereignty and “we don’t discuss hypotheticals”, speaking to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Sunday, highlighting that such military decisions cannot be made in advance.

“The decision to commit Australian troops to a conflict will be made by the government of the day, not in advance but by the government of the day,” he said.

His remarks come in the wake of pressure from Elbridge Colby, the US undersecretary of defence for policy, on Australia and Japan to clarify their military commitments in the event of a conflict over Taiwan.

In May, US secretary of defence Pete Hegseth reiterated the Pentagon’s timeline for a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan. He warned that China was “credibly preparing” for military escalation to upend the balance of power in Asia, with an invasion expected by 2027. He also vowed that the US was “here to stay” in the Indo-Pacific region.

US intelligence reports say that Chinese president Xi Jinping has instructed his military to be ready for an invasion by 2027, should he give the order.

Beijing claims Taiwan as a breakaway province, and Mr Jinping has threatened to “reunite” the island with the mainland, by force if necessary. The Taiwanese people largely favour the status quo, which gives them de facto independence.

Mr Conroy said Australia was concerned about China’s military build-up of nuclear and conventional forces and wanted a balanced Indo-Pacific where no single country holds dominance.

“China is seeking to secure a military base in the region, and we are working very hard to be the primary security partner of choice for the region because we don’t think that’s a particularly optimal thing for Australia,” he said, referring to the Pacific Islands.

Mr Colby’s push is seen as the latest effort by the Trump administration to persuade its Indo-Pacific allies to prepare for a potential war over Taiwan. According to the Financial Times, he has been pressing the defence agenda in meetings with Japanese and Australian officials in recent months, citing five sources familiar with the discussions.

The top US official also took to X and said the Pentagon was implementing US president Donald Trump’s agenda of “restoring deterrence and achieving peace through strength”.

“As the Department has made abundantly and consistently clear, we at DOD are focused on implementing the President’s America First, common sense agenda of restoring deterrence and achieving peace through strength,” Mr Colby wrote on X.

“That includes urging allies to step up their defence spending and other efforts related to our collective defence. This has been a hallmark of President Trump’s strategy - in Asia as in Europe, where it has already been tremendously successful,” he said.

According to a US defence official, the “animated theme” of the discussions between Mr Colby and Australia and Japan was “to intensify and accelerate efforts to strengthen deterrence in a balanced, equitable way”.

“We do not seek war. Nor do we seek to dominate China itself. What we are doing is ensuring the United States and its allies have the military strength to underwrite diplomacy and guarantee peace,” the US official told the FT.

A close defence partner, Australia is set to open its largest war-fighting exercise with the US on Sunday, involving 30,000 troops from 19 countries on Sydney Harbour.

The Talisman Sabre exercise will span 6,500km (4,000 miles) from Australia’s Indian Ocean territory of Christmas Island to the Coral Sea on Australia’s east coast.

Meanwhile, the Australian defence industry minister said it was possible China’s navy would be watching the exercise to collect information, as it had done in the past.