Bad news for China, as Taiwan deploys powerful weapon that once caused massive loss to Russia, its name is..., features are...

India.com

3 days ago

The world continues to witness conflicts and unrest on a daily basis. One such conflict is between China and Taiwan. Amid escalating tensions with China, Taiwan has deployed one of its most recent and accurate offensive capabilities, the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), on Saturday. The intention is to show Taiwan's ability to resist a potential assault from China. Two armored trucks with HIMARS were seen in military exercises near Taichung city on Taiwan's central west coast, as reported by NavBharatTimes. This occurred on day 4 of the annual Han Kuang exercises, which is the largest military exercise Taiwan conducts. Next week, Taiwan will continue its Han Kuang exercises with both simulation and live-fire tests.
China considers Taiwan, a democratic state, part of its territory. In the last five years, it has increased the military pressure on the island and conducted significant military exercises with heightened naval and air force patrols in the surrounding air and sea.
Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND) said that it detected 14 Chinese military aircraft, nine naval vessels, and 1 official ship operating around Taiwan until 6 am (local time) on Saturday. Of these, 9 aircraft crossed the unofficial median line between Taiwan and China, the first time in the last few years. Taiwan does not accept China's claims. In a statement, Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said only the people of Taiwan can decide their future. According to Taiwan's MND, nine out of 14 sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's northern and eastern Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ). In response to China's action, Taiwan's armed forces deployed aircraft, naval ships, and coastal missile systems to monitor the situation.
Earlier on Saturday, Taiwan's Armed Forces staged a powerful demonstration of military readiness, simulating a Chinese incursion via the Tamsui River in New Taipei as part of the annual Han Kuang exercises, Focus Taiwan reported. The high-intensity drill featured live C4 explosive detonations and riverine blockades, sending a clear message to Beijing amid escalating threats of invasion from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). As per Focus Taiwan, the Army's 53rd Engineer Group took center stage in the drill, placing combat obstacles and remotely detonating explosives across a strategic stretch of the Tamsui River, a critical entry point to the capital. For the first time, the military publicly demonstrated live explosive deployment–an unprecedented move seen by observers as a necessary deterrent against China's expanding military aggression.
The Chinese defense ministry dismissed the Han Kuang exercises this week as 'nothing more than bluff' while its foreign ministry reiterated that its opposition to U.S.-Taiwan military cooperation remains 'consistent and very firm.'
Furthermore, regional military attaches noted that the involvement of HIMARS in such a combat-like exercise is going to draw close attention because of the widespread use of HIMARS by Ukraine against Russian troops.
Taiwan received the initial installment of the first 11 of 29 HIMARS units it ordered last year. Taiwan tested the systems for the first time in May of this year. With an approximate range of 300 kilometers (190 miles), the HIMARS has the capability to target coastal positions in China's southern Fujian province, across the Taiwan Strait.
Taiwanese military analysts believe these weapons systems would be used in combination with the indigenous Thunderbolt-2000 launchers so that strikes can be targeted against Chinese forces while they are leaving port or when they are attempting the landing on the shore of Taiwan. Taiwanese defence analysts also noted that during recent drills, a Thunderbolt launcher was sited parked in close proximity to a HIMARS system.