Taiwan on Monday test-fired for the first time a new US-supplied rocket system that has been widely used by Ukraine against Russia and could be deployed to hit targets in China if there is a war with Taiwan. <\/p>\n
The United States is Taiwan\u2019s most important arms supplier, despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties. Taiwan has faced increased military pressure from China, including several rounds of war games, as Beijing seeks to assert its sovereignty claims over the island. <\/p>\n
Taiwan has bought 29 of Lockheed Martin\u2019s precision weapon High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, with the first batch of 11 received last year and the rest set to arrive by next year. <\/p>\n
With a range of about 300 kilometers (186 miles), they could hit coastal targets in China\u2019s southern province of Fujian, on the other side of the Taiwan Strait, in the event of conflict. <\/p>\n
The US-trained Taiwan military team fired the rockets from the Jiupeng test center on a remote part of the Pacific coast. <\/p>\n
Officer Ho Hsiang-yih told reporters US personnel from the manufacturer were at the site to tackle any problems. <\/p>\n
\u201cI believe that this rocket firing shows our people the military\u2019s determination to protect the country\u2019s security and safeguard our beautiful homeland,\u201d he added. <\/p>\n
HIMARS, one of Ukraine\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n
The test came a day after Taiwan said it had detected another \u201cjoint combat readiness patrol\u201d by China\u2019s military near the island, involving warplanes and warships. <\/p>\n
Taiwan\u2019s democratically-elected government rejects China\u2019s sovereignty claims, saying only the island\u2019s people can decide their future. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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