TAICHUNG, Taiwan: Taiwan\u2019s military began deploying one of its newest and most precise strike weapons on Saturday, ahead of live-fire drills meant to showcase the island\u2019s determination to resist any Chinese invasion.<\/p>\n
Two armored trucks with HIMARS \u2013 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems \u2013 were seen maneuvering around the city of Taichung near Taiwan\u2019s central coast on the fourth of 10 days of its most comprehensive annual exercises yet.<\/p>\n
The live-fire portion of the Han Kuang drills is expected next week.<\/p>\n
In wartime, said Col. Chen Lian-jia, a military spokesperson, it would be vital to conceal HIMARS from enemy aerial reconnaissance, satellites \u201cor even enemy operatives behind our lines\u201d until the order to fire was given.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Taiwan rejects China\u2019s sovereignty claims, with President Lai Ching-te saying only Taiwan\u2019s people can decide their future.<\/p>\n
China\u2019s defense ministry said this week the Han Kuang drills were \u201cnothing but a bluff\u201d while its foreign ministry said its opposition to US-Taiwan military ties was \u201cconsistent and very firm.\u201d<\/p>\n
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 kilometers, the weapons could strike coastal targets in China\u2019s southern province of Fujian on the other side of the Taiwan Strait.<\/p>\n
Taiwanese military analysts say the weapon would be used with its locally developed Thunderbolt 2000 launchers so Chinese forces could be targeted as they left port or attempted to land on Taiwan\u2019s coast. A Thunderbolt unit was also seen in a park near the HIMARS units.<\/p>\n
Senior Taiwanese military officials say the Han Kuang drills are unscripted and designed to replicate full combat conditions, starting with simulated enemy attacks on communications and command systems, leading to a full-blown invasion scenario.<\/p>\n
The drills aim to show China and the international community, including Taiwan\u2019s key weapons supplier the US, that Taiwan is determined to defend itself against any Chinese attack or invasion, the officials say.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TAICHUNG, Taiwan: Taiwan\u2019s military began deploying one of its newest and most precise strike weapons on Saturday, ahead of live-fire drills meant to showcase the island\u2019s determination to resist any Chinese invasion. Two armored trucks with HIMARS \u2013 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems \u2013 were seen maneuvering around the city of Taichung near Taiwan\u2019s central […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":489814,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-489805","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n