Taiwan starts its biggest-ever military drills as China tensions rise

Fact-check index: 58/100 — The core factual claims about the Han Kuang drills' launch, purpose, and Reuters/Taipei Times framing are well supported by the cited sources, but several claims — Beijing's lack of formal reaction, Taiwan's semiconductor/security significance, and the speculative 'what to watch' predictions — are not established by any source material.

• Taiwan launched its largest-ever Han Kuang military exercise on Wednesday — France 24 confirms the annual Han Kuang exercise began Wednesday and is the island's largest military drill; Chosun Ilbo headline independently corroborates 'largest-ever'.
• The exercise is designed to prepare Taiwan's forces for a potential Chinese attack — Matches France 24: 'meant to prepare the country for potential attacks.'
• Reuters said this year's war games test the flexibility of Taiwan's military command structure — Matches the Reuters headline ('to test command flexibility'), but only the headline is available in source material, not article body text confirming details.
• China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has ramped up military pressure in recent years — Directly matches France 24 source text.
• Beijing has not formally reacted to this year's drills — No source material addresses China's official response or lack thereof.
• Autonomous platforms and electronic warfare are central to the exercise's uncrewed-systems component, per experts cited by Taipei Times — Matches the Taipei Times headline, but only the headline is available, not the article body confirming specifics attributed to 'experts.'
• Taiwan sits at the center of Indo-Pacific security architecture and global semiconductor supply chains — Not mentioned in any provided source; appears to be the article's own added context/analysis.
• This year's larger-scale drills signal Taipei is preparing for a longer, more technologically complex confrontation — An editorial inference not stated or supported by any cited source.
• What to watch — whether China stages counter-drills or incursions near Taiwan during the exercise 'as it has around past editions' — No source confirms past patterns of Chinese counter-drills or discusses this as something to watch for this year.
• What to watch — whether Washington or regional allies comment on the scale of this year's games — Not addressed in any of the provided source material.