US Lawmaker at Security Forum – August 4, 2026
US lawmaker Michael McCaul and President Lai Ching-te warn of the threat China poses to Taiwan and the region at a major security forum in Taipei. Ahead of Taiwan's largest annual military drills, the Han Kuang exercises, a live fire drill on Taiwan's northwest coast gives a preview of what's to come. And Japan releases a white paper calling China its "greatest strategic challenge ever." Plus: - A string of record-breaking hot days in South Korea forces officials to issue warnings as reservoirs run dry. - Coral around Taiwan could get a probiotic boost against the climate crisis as researchers at Academia Sinica unveil a breakthrough treatment. - Researchers in Japan also test means by which coral populations might survive warming sea conditions that lead to mass bleaching.
