Taiwan has conducted its first test of a new US-supplied rocket system, a weapon that has proven effective for Ukraine against Russia.
The test comes amid heightened tensions between Taiwan and China, with Beijing increasingly asserting its sovereignty claims over the self-governing island. It’s thought the new system could play a key role in defending the island against potential Chinese aggression.
The newly tested system, the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), is a precision weapon manufactured by Lockheed Martin. Taiwan has acquired 29 of these systems, with 11 already delivered last year and the remaining 18 expected to arrive by next year.
This acquisition underscores the United States’ role as Taiwan’s primary arms supplier, despite the absence of formal diplomatic relations between the two nations.
The HIMARS boasts a range of approximately 300 kilometers (186 miles), enabling it to potentially strike targets along the coast of China’s Fujian province, located across the Taiwan Strait. This capability could prove crucial in deterring or responding to any military action by China.
The test follows a series of military exercises conducted by China around Taiwan, further escalating tensions in the region.
The U.S.-trained Taiwan military team fired the rockets from the Jiupeng test centre on a remote part of the Pacific coast.
Officer Ho Hsiang-yih told reporters US personnel from the manufacturer were at the site to tackle any problems.
“I believe that this rocket firing shows our people the military’s determination to protect the country’s security and safeguard our beautiful homeland,” he added.
HIMARS, one of Ukraine’s main strike systems, has been used multiple times during the war with Russia. In March, Australia said it had received the first two of 42 HIMARS launcher vehicles.
The test came a day after Taiwan said it had detected another “joint combat readiness patrol” by China’s military near the island, involving warplanes and warships.
Taiwan’s democratically-elected government rejects China’s sovereignty claims, saying only the island’s people can decide their future.
Elsewhere, former Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen will visit Britain this week at the invitation of British lawmakers, a trip that comes as London also tries to improve ties with Beijing. Meanwhile, China ramps up efforts to diplomatically isolate the island.
Britain, like most countries, has no official diplomatic ties with Taiwan, but the economic and political exchanges between the two sides have increased as Beijing ratchets up military threats to force Taipei to accept its sovereignty claim over the democratic island.
