Taiwan’s drones are not just about national survival. They offer the U.S. a combat-ready, industrially capable partner in the most contested theater of 21st century geopolitics.

China staged military drills off Taiwan's north, south and east coasts on Tuesday as a "stern warning" against separatism and called Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te a "parasite," as Taiwan sent warships to respond to China's navy approaching its shores.

The United States doubled down on its decades-old support for Taiwan as China flexed its muscles with a second day of large-scale military exercises around Taiwan, including live-fire drills.

Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Gen. Romeo Brawner told troops of Northern Luzon Command to prepare for a Taiwan invasion contingency, citing the repatriation of citizens and the “inevitability” of Manila’s involvement in a cross-strait conflict.

The Chinese military said the drills are a "severe warning and forceful containment against Taiwan independence."

China's launches drills around Taiwan to "severely punish" the island's pro-independence leader, as the U.S. boosts its war footing in Japan to deter Chinese "aggression."