Taiwan is preparing for a war it cannot win through numbers or brute force, so it is conducting manoeuvres with its army to repel and wear down a ground invasion across the strait separating it from mainland China. Its resources are focused on mobile, lighter weapons that allow for a targeted strike and a rapid withdrawal before the invading army of the People's Republic of China has time to detect the launch position on radar.
During the manoeuvres, a test firing was carried out of a US-made (Lockheed Martin) HIMARS missile using Taiwanese-made Thunderbolt-2000 launchers. This type of missile is one of Ukraine's main lines of defence against the Russian invasion and has a range of 300 kilometres, which would be sufficient to reach coastal targets in Fujian province, in south-east China, on the other side of the Taiwan Strait. The beaches and marshes of Taiwan's west coast are the most likely area for Chinese troops to land in the event of an invasion.
"Our HIMARS demonstrated the unit's robust combat capabilities and successfully completed this training," said company commander Ko Ming-pin, according to Reuters. The exercise aimed to demonstrate the HIMARS' mobility and its ability to "shoot and move on", which "greatly enhances survivability on the battlefield."