Taiwan stages missile and drone drills before Trump-Xi summit on China tensions — SkimNews
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- Taiwan held military drills on Friday in southern Pingtung county, including for the first time joint combat exercises involving several types of attack drones, ahead of the September 24 Trump-Xi summit in the US.
- President Lai Ching-te said the coordinated use of unmanned vehicles with conventional weapons 'reflects the adaptation to modern warfare,' and the military fired anti-air, anti-ship, and anti-landing missiles during the exercises.
- Trump postponed a planned $14 billion arms package for Taiwan after his May summit with Xi, calling US arms sales to Taiwan 'a very good negotiating chip' with China — a posture that has raised doubts about Washington's commitment to the island.
- Taiwan's army will continue drills next week with newly purchased US-made HIMARS rocket systems and Stinger missile simulators as part of sustained pre-summit preparations.
- Beijing has pressed Trump to take a stronger stand against Taiwan's independence, making US arms sales to the self-ruled island one of the key issues at the September 24 meeting — the leaders' first face-to-face since May.
Why it matters: Taipei is publicly demonstrating its shift toward asymmetric drone warfare precisely as Washington signals openness to trading a $14 billion arms package away for deal terms with Beijing — the drills hedge against both Chinese pressure and the possibility that Trump downscales US hardware commitments. Continued HIMARS and Stinger exercises into next week show Taiwan accelerating self-reliance regardless of summit outcomes.
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