On Tuesday, August 1, Taiwan’s military will stage a series of missile drills this month in waters off its eastern coastline to test combat readiness amid growing concerns that Beijing could send forces to attack the island from its less fortified east. The drills will involve air and naval forces firing air and ship-launched missiles at targets in three restricted zones in waters off the east and southeast coast of the self-ruled island, according to a notice issued by Taiwan’s Fisheries Agency. Both the air force and the navy will send their missile-equipped fleets to the drills and test their combat readiness, a military source said on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, August 2, it was reported that Iran's Revolutionary Guards' navy has unveiled new vessels equipped with 600-km range missiles at a time of rising tensions with the U.S. in the Gulf, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Wednesday. The announcement was made during a military exercise off the coast of Abu Musa island, one of three Gulf islands under Iranian control but disputed by the United Arab Emirates. The news agency gave no details about the missiles but cited a commander on the need to defend the islands. "The islands of the Persian Gulf are part of Iran's honor, and we will defend them," Revolutionary Guards' Navy Commander Alireza Tangsiri said, adding that Gulf security needed to be provided by regional countries.

Also on Wednesday, Chinese armed forces will hold the first ever military drills with United Arab Emirates in China this month, in a move that raised eyebrows for analysts as Washington and Beijing vie for influence in the Gulf. Falcon Shield 2023, which will feature joint air force training for the two countries, will take place in Xinjiang in northwest China, a statement from the Chinese ministry of defense said Monday, “according to the annual plan and the consensus reached by China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).” The statement added that the training aims to deepen pragmatic exchanges and cooperation between the two militaries and enhance mutual understanding and trust, though it provided few details as to the exercise’s scope. The UAE ministry of defense did not respond to Breaking Defense’s request for comment as of publication.

On Thursday, August 3, the U.S. military was considering putting armed personnel on commercial ships traveling through the Strait of Hormuz, in what would be an unheard of action aimed at stopping Iran from seizing and harassing civilian vessels, four American officials told The Associated Press on Thursday. America didn’t even take the step during the “Tanker War,” which culminated with the U.S. Navy and Iran fighting a one-day naval battle in 1988 that was the Navy’s largest since World War II. While officials offered few details of the plan, it comes as thousands of Marines and sailors on both the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan and the USS Carter Hall, a landing ship, are on their way to the Persian Gulf. Those Marines and sailors could provide the backbone for any armed guard mission in the strait, through which 20 percent of all the world’s crude oil passes.

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