HIMARS are being used in military drills aimed at boosting the island’s ability to combat threats from China.Taiwan has begun deploying its newest and most precise strike weapons, high calibre rockets from the United States, as part of its annual live-fire drills to increase the island’s ability to counter potential attacks from China.
On Saturday, two armoured trucks with High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) were seen manoeuvring around the city of Taichung near Taiwan’s central coast, on the fourth of 10 days of the Han Kuang exercise, its most comprehensive annual exercise, according to the Reuters news agency.
Military spokesperson Colonel Chen Lian-jia said it would be crucial to conceal the HIMARS from enemy aerial reconnaissance, satellites, “or even enemy operatives behind our lines” until the order to fire was given.
China considers Taiwan its own province and has long threatened to use force to bring it under Beijing’s control.
Over the past five years, China has increased pressure around the island, staging a string of intense war games and daily naval and air force patrols around the territory.
Earlier this week, China’s Ministry of National Defense said the Han Kuang drills were “nothing but a bluffing and self-deceiving trick”. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs added that its opposition to US-Taiwan military ties was “consistent and very firm”.
On Thursday, Taiwanese President William Lai Ching-te said the exercises were being conducted based on “large-scale, re …