Taiwan has announced plans to spend $1.5 billion from a "special budget" to enhance the capabilities of the nation's naval and air forces.

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 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has stepped up messaging about its round-the-clock military drills conducted in an apparent response to Taiwan’s annual Han Kuang exercise. For four consecutive days this week,

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.

Taiwan continued to conduct its Han Kuang military exercises on Monday, intended to guard against Chinese threats to invade.

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.

Han Kuang Exercise, air defence and civil response drills transform Taipei and other cities into wartime simulation.

China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and threatens to take it by force if Taipei refuses to submit under its control indefinitely. Over the past decade, Beijing has raised the pressure on Taipei, conducting regular military operations of increasing scale and scope near the island.