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

Taiwan's newly acquired HIMARS and Abrams tanks would raise the costs of a Chinese amphibious landing, a defense analyst says.

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.

The Han Kuang exercises entered their third day, with some units setting up defensive structures and others diverted to assist in actual disaster relief efforts in the south.

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.

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.

Taiwan has launched its largest-ever military drills intended to counter Chinese invasion threats. The annual 10-day Han Kuang exercises began on Wednesday and included the use of "gray zone tactics" deployed by China. Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense said the exercise will draw in the army, navy and air force, backed by 22,000 reservists.

The Telegraph visited a primary school in Miaoli, 60 miles south of the capital Taipei, where around 70 reserve soldiers assembled, loaded and aimed firearms, including 65K2 rifles, M249 squad machine guns and T74 platoon machine guns.