This year’s drills are ten days, twice as long as before. The timing is no accident. Tensions with Beijing remain high. While polls suggest most Taiwanese don’t believe an invasion is imminent, the government is preparing with focus and urgency.

The Philippine embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Copyright 2025 Thomson Reuters. Your trusted source for the latest news delivered weekdays from the team at U.S. News and World Report.

The U.S. Navy’s Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group entered the South China Sea on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Chinese reconnaissance flights as Taiwan conducts annual counter-invasion drills. USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70),

The 41st Han Kuang exercise is taking place against a backdrop of heightened tensions with China, which claims Taiwan as its own and has vowed to unify with it—by force, if necessary. This year's live-fire component is the longest ever, reflecting the seriousness with which Taipei views the threat.

As tensions with China rise, Taiwan is staging its latest round of large urban resilience and war game exercises, designed to prepare its civilians for war.

Days after a White House meeting with President Donald Trump, Jensen Huang was being hailed by an audience on a stage in Beijing.

Beijing has declared Taiwan as an "inalienable" part of China, whereas Taipei has long asserted its independence.