Taiwan conducted live-fire exercises with U.S.-made tanks as President Lai Ching-te watched, amid tensions with China over the island's sovereignty.

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has watched live-fire drills with new U.S.-made Abrams M1A2T tanks during annual defense exercises.

Taiwan launched its largest ever military drills on Wednesday, starting with simulated attacks on its command systems and infrastructure ahead of a Chinese invasion, senior defence officials said.

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The US should withdraw all military personnel from Taiwan, the Washington D.C.-based think tank Defense Priorities said in a report published on Wednesday. If the training is necessary, it can be provided in the US, the report said. The think tank claimed that Taiwan assumes the US would intervene if China attacked.

Taiwan's army on Thursday displayed the fire power of its first U.S.-sourced M1A2T Abrams tanks - a traditional weapon that analysts say will need to be increasingly protected against drones in any future battle given lessons from the Ukraine war.

China claims Taiwan as its own despite Taipei's objections. The United States does not recognize Taiwan's statehood but has political and economic stakes in a peaceful resolution to the decades-long dispute, and is obliged by U.S. law to help Taipei arm itself against a possible attack.