Taiwan showed off new US-made unmanned systems at a National Day rehearsal, a sign it is building up its ability to watch and defend its waters.

• The Coast Guard displayed the American military-grade JUMP 20 drone in public for the first time, years after Washington agreed to supply it.
• The drone can stay in the air more than 13 hours and work out to 185 kilometres, giving earlier warning of suspicious ships.
• Also shown was the M18 unmanned boat, built by US maker MARTAC, which can carry sensors or explosive warheads and travel long distances at high speed.
• The boats have been delivered but crews are still training, so they are not yet on front-line duty.
• This year's National Day theme leaned into disaster response and whole-of-society defence, with space, health, police and fire agencies joining the parade.

Outlook: Expect the unmanned boats to move into real patrol work once training ends, adding to Taiwan's push to spot Chinese and smuggling activity around its coast sooner.