China deployed two aircraft carrier groups and dozens of ships in waters north and south of Taiwan last month, a Taiwanese security official said, as Beijing keeps up military pressure on the self-ruled island.

Reporting from Beijing, NBC’s Janis Mackey Frayer examines Taiwan’s urgent military buildup—including U.S.-made HIMARS systems—as fears mount over a potential Chinese invasion. McCain Institute Executive Director,

For over 75 years, the Republic and People’s Republic of China have confronted each other across the Taiwan Strait, a highly contested sea passage separating the two nations

ORIANA SKYLAR MASTRO is a Center Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University and a Nonresident Scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Taiwan should prioritize the expansion of all ammunition production capabilities, such as ammunition for the M114 155mm howitzer, the Type 63 120mm mortar, and the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), Ho said, adding that Taiwan should also increase the capacity of its reserves for such ammunition.

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te voiced his hope for peace with China, but is boosting the country’s defenses amid Beijing’s frosty approach to peace talks. Speaking with reporters while marking his first year in office, Lai echoed the famous dictum of the Roman writer Vegetius: “If you want peace, prepare for war.”

MANILA, PHILIPPINES—U.S. Marine Corps and Army missile systems will deploy to strategic Philippine Island chains between Luzon and Taiwan to practice anti-ship operations during the exercise KAMANDAG 9.

If US arms sales to Taiwan do accelerate, it could ease worries about the extent of Trump’s commitment to the island. It would also add new friction to the tense US-China relationship

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has told allies in the Indo-Pacific that Washington will bolster its defenses overseas. The move is intended to counter what the Pentagon sees as rapidly developing threats from Beijing, particularly its aggressive stance toward Taiwan.

“Signal abnormalities” that occurred during a live-fire test of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) earlier this month were caused by a fire control malfunction, rather than signal jamming from China, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said yesterday.