Taiwan's military fired U.S.-supplied HIMARS rockets into the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday from mobile launchers in a demonstration of how it might try to repel a Chinese attack.
While the U.S.-supplied system has been tested before, the latest live-fire exercise was the first time HIMARS rockets were fired into the waters of the narrow Taiwan Strait that separates the self-governing island from China.
Army Sgt. Wang Ming-hui said, "Due to the current enemy threat, we will continue HIMARS training with unwavering determination to protect Taiwan as the nation's strongest force."
The military said it used reduced-range practice rockets that do not fly very far from the coast before falling into the water.
China views Taiwan as a renegade province and says it must come under its control at some point in the future, and it sends warships and planes into the skies and waters near the island almost every day, the article said.
The HIMARS, which stands for High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, is part of a U.S.-encouraged shift in strategy toward an asymmetric approach designed to keep China at bay rather than trying to go head-to-head with big-ticket weapons purchases, the article said.
The rockets were fired on the second day of exercises on Taiwan's west coast, which faces China; the drills also included 155 mm howitzers and simulated a response to a Chinese invasion to test rapid deployment and precision-strike capabilities.
The HIMARS was the centerpiece of the drill: after receiving a firing order, the vehicles maneuvered into position and launched their rockets with bright flashes within three minutes, demonstrating their mobility.
The U.S. announced plans in December to sell 82 more HIMARS systems to Taiwan, but that package appears to have been put on hold after President Donald Trump met Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing last month.