HIMARS Unleashed in Taiwan as China Watches On
Taiwan, a self-ruled island under China's threat of force, conducted its first live-fire exercise with the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) supplied by the United States.
Newsweek has reached out to the Chinese Defense Ministry for comment by email.
Communist China has claimed that Taiwan is an "inalienable part" of its territory, while its leader, President Xi Jinping, has vowed that China will "never promise to renounce the use of force" against the sovereign democracy, a U.S. security partner in the Indo-Pacific region.
The U.S. has maintained an unofficial relationship with Taiwan, after establishing diplomatic ties with China in 1979. Washington has also continued to supply "defensive weapons" to Taipei under the Taiwan Relations Act, making it the island's largest source of foreign arms.
The Taiwanese military on Monday conducted a live-fire drill at Jiupeng Base in southern Pingtung County, marking the debut of the HIMARS on the island and demonstrating its "rapid deployment and next-generation strike capabilities," Taipei's defense ministry said.
Taiwan's Central News Agency reported that 11 HIMARS launchers participated in the drill, each firing three rockets. Taiwan ordered a total of 29 launchers from the U.S., with the first 11 delivered last year and the remaining scheduled for delivery next year, the report added.
According to U.S. defense contractor Lockheed Martin, each HIMARS launcher can fire two types of munitions: either six Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) rockets or a single ATACMS ballistic missile, formally known as the Army Tactical Missile System.
The GMLRS rocket, armed with a 200-pound warhead, has a range of over 43 miles, while the ATACMS missile can strike targets up to 186 miles away with a 500-pound warhead.
The HIMARS, which has proven its effectiveness in Ukraine's war against Russia, could be deployed to target Fujian-a Chinese province facing Taiwan-in the event of a conflict across the 110-mile-wide Taiwan Strait, a strategic waterway separating China and Taiwan.
Citing Taiwanese Army Colonel Ho Chih-chung, who is the deputy commander of the 58th Artillery Command, Lockheed Martin has also dispatched its personnel to Jiupeng Base to assist with technical issues during the live-fire exercise, the Central News Agency reported.
The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency said: "[Taiwan] will use this capability as a deterrent to regional threats and to strengthen homeland defense. Acquisition of HIMARS will contribute to [Taiwan's] goal of updating its military capability while further enhancing interoperability with the United States and other allies."
The Chinese Defense Ministry said: "We urge the U.S. side to ... immediately stop arming Taiwan ... Several pieces of U.S. weaponry won't be the magic straw that can save a drowning man; they are nothing but easy targets on the battlefields."
Lockheed Martin said: "Adversaries around the globe are becoming more sophisticated ... The Lockheed Martin HIMARS is a strategic capability, improving homeland and important asset defense while reducing overall mission costs."
It remains to be seen whether Taiwan will place additional orders for HIMARS, as the U.S. had suggested the island increase its defense spending to help deter a Chinese attack.
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