Amped-up drills and new U.S. tanks have added bite to President Lai Ching-te’s Taiwan-is-a-country lecture tour.

The island of Taiwan is holding its annual Han Kuang Exercise, which began Wednesday and will run until July 18. Compared to past years, this year's drills focus more on real-life scenarios and are conducted more openly.

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.

The early stages of the annual Han Kuang exercises would also focus on testing how Taiwan’s military can decentralize command in the event of a crippling communications attack.

Taiwanese military tests new M1A2T tanks during annual Han Kuang Exercise in show of force aimed at boosting morale, combat readiness.

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.

In Hsinchu County, President William Lai (賴清德) monitored a live-fire exercise at the Kengzikou Range (坑子口訓練場) involving a platoon of M1A2T tanks purchased from the US. The tanks fired individually, in pairs and as a full platoon. Following the drill, the army said that the tanks had achieved “perfect” accuracy.

Taiwan included its first batch of 38 U.S.-purchased M1A2T Abrams tanks in a live-fire exercise at Hsinchu military base on Thursday, as it launched its annual military exercises intended to guard against Chinese threats.

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.

The annual 10-day Han Kuang exercise will test Taiwan’s ability to respond to a Chinese attack on its command structure.