TAICHUNG, Taiwan: Taiwan’s military began deploying one of its newest and most precise strike weapons on Saturday (Jul 12) as part of intensifying drills meant to showcase the island’s determination to resist any Chinese invasion.
Two armoured trucks with HIMARS – High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems – were seen manoeuvring around the city of Taichung near Taiwan’s central coast on the fourth of 10 days of its most comprehensive annual Han Kuang exercises yet.
Fire simulation and some live-fire drills are expected next week as more air force planes and naval ships become involved.
In a wartime scenario, said Colonel Chen Lian-jia, a military spokesperson, it would be vital to conceal HIMARS from enemy aerial reconnaissance, satellites “or even enemy operatives behind our lines” until the order to fire was given.
China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own and has intensified military pressure around the island over the last five years, staging a string of intense war games and daily naval and air force patrols around the territory.
Taiwan rejects China’s sovereignty claims, with President Lai Ching-te saying only Taiwan’s people can decide their future.
China’s defence ministry said this week the Han Kuang drills were “nothing but a bluff” while its foreign ministry said its opposition to US-Taiwan military ties was “consistent and very firm”.
Regional military attaches say the HIMARS deployment in a warlike exercise will be closely watched, given that they have been used extensively by Ukraine against Russian forces.
Australia has also purchased the Lockheed Martin systems.
Taiwan took delivery last year of the first 11 of 29 HIMARS units, testing them for the first time in May. With a range of about 300 km, the weapons could strike coastal targets in China’s southern province of Fujian on the other side of the Taiwan Strait.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/east-asia/taiwan-deploys-advanced-himars-rocket-drills-china-5234941
