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.

The early stages of the annual Han Kuang exercises will focus on testing how Taiwan’s military can decentralise command in the event of a crippling communications attack. Over the next 10 days, the drills will expand to assess Taiwan's combat readiness against a full-scale attempt to seize the island.

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