Taiwan test fires for first time new US-supplied HIMARS rocket system

By Ann Wang and Annabelle Chih

JIUPENG, Taiwan (Reuters) - Taiwan on Monday test-fired for the first time a new U.S.-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.

The United States is Taiwan's 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.

Taiwan has bought 29 of Lockheed Martin's 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.

With a range of about 300 km (186 miles), they could hit coastal targets in China's southern province of Fujian, on the other side of the Taiwan Strait, in the event of conflict.

The U.S.-trained Taiwan military team fired the rockets from the Jiupeng test centre on a remote part of the Pacific coast.

Officer Ho Hsiang-yih told reporters U.S. personnel from the manufacturer were at the site to tackle any problems.

"I believe that this rocket firing shows our people the military's determination to protect the country's security and safeguard our beautiful homeland," he added.

HIMARS, one of Ukraine's 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.

The test came a day after Taiwan said it had detected another "joint combat readiness patrol" by China's military near the island, involving warplanes and warships.

Taiwan's democratically-elected government rejects China's sovereignty claims, saying only the island's people can decide their future.

(Reporting by Ann Wang and Annabelle Chih; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

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