Taiwan conducts first HIMARS drill into Strait amid Chinese maritime push

Taiwan's military has fired rockets from US-supplied mobile launching systems toward waters facing China, which experts viewed as a show of force meant to demonstrate the island's evolving defence strategy, taking place just days after Beijing launched a new maritime campaign east of Taiwan.

Although the island, officially called the Republic of China (ROC), has previously tested the American High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), the latest live-fire exercise marked the first time these rockets were fired into the Taiwan Strait—the narrow body of water separating the island from mainland China, according to a CNN article.

"Due to the current enemy threat, we will continue HIMARS training with unwavering determination to protect Taiwan as the nation's strongest force," Army Sgt. Wang Ming-hui was quoted as saying.

Taiwan's military said it used reduced-range training rockets, which travelled only a short distance offshore before splashing into the sea.

Asked about the exercise during an interview with CNN, Taiwan's representative to the United States, Alexander Yui, stated the military was supposedly merely training with its newly acquired launchers.

"We're an island; we can only shoot east or west, so they chose west," he said.

The HIMARS—short for High Mobility Artillery Rocket System—is central to Taiwan's shift toward an asymmetric defence strategy strongly encouraged by the United States. Rather than matching China's military hardware platform for platform, Taipei has increasingly invested in highly mobile, survivable systems capable of inflicting significant damage while remaining difficult to target.

Mounted on trucks, HIMARS launchers can rapidly emerge from concealed positions, fire their rockets and relocate before enemy forces can respond—a tactic commonly known as "shoot-and-scoot."

The launch formed the centerpiece of the second day of military exercises along Taiwan's west coast facing China. According to the American outlet, these drills, which also featured 155 mm howitzers, simulated a response to a potential invasion by another army while testing the military's rapid deployment and precision-strike capabilities.

After receiving firing orders, the HIMARS vehicles manoeuvred into position and launched their rockets within three minutes, demonstrating the mobility that has made the system one of the most sought-after artillery platforms in modern warfare.

According to CNN, Washington announced plans in December to sell Taiwan an additional 82 HIMARS launchers as part of a broader arms package. However, the proposed sale appears to have been put on hold following US President Donald Trump's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing last month.

Chinese pressure expands east of Taiwan

The timing of Taiwan's exercise coincided with Beijing's announcement of a new maritime operation east of the island, signalling another step in China's expanding "grey zone" campaign.

According to China's state news agency Xinhua, the operation aims to establish maritime administrative jurisdiction—effectively extending civil and law-enforcement control over shipping routes that Beijing says are necessary to safeguard its national interests.

Chinese officials said the latest campaign was prompted by maritime boundary discussions between Japan and the Philippines concerning waters east of Taiwan, arguing that the talks "seriously violate China's territorial sovereignty, as well as its maritime rights and interests."

In recent weeks, China has increased coast guard patrols, expanded inspections of civilian vessels and intensified its presence east of Taiwan, an area long regarded by Taipei as a comparatively secure rear zone.

Rather than relying primarily on naval warships, Beijing has increasingly employed coast guard vessels, civilian inspections and sustained pressure on maritime communications—a strategy commonly described as operating in the "grey zone," where coercive actions stop short of outright military conflict.

As previously noted in an analysis by Caliber.Az, the latest campaign represents a notable shift from earlier Chinese operations, which largely focused on the Taiwan Strait. By moving its activities into the Philippine Sea east of Taiwan, Beijing is extending pressure into waters that have traditionally been viewed as less contested, opening a new front in its long-running effort to reshape the regional security environment without triggering direct military confrontation.

By Nazrin Sadigova