China’s military activities increase as US elections approach

EARLY ARRIVALS:
The first HIMARS sets purchased from the US have arrived ahead of scheduled delivery and troops are already training on the platforms, a source said.

• By Aaron Tu and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, staff writer and with Reuters

The Ministry of National Defense (MND) said yesterday that 35 Chinese military aircraft, including fighter jets and bombers, were detected flying south of Taiwan on their way to exercises in the Pacific; reported such activities for the second consecutive year.

Just days before tomorrow’s US presidential election, China’s Ministry of National Defense reportedly did not respond to a request for comment on the missions.

The United States is obligated by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself. Among the arms sales to Taipei is the $2 billion missile system announced last month.

Photo courtesy of the Ministry of National Defense

MND said that as of 9 am yesterday morning, 37 Chinese military aircraft, including J-16 fighter jets, nuclear-capable H-6 bombers and unmanned aerial vehicles, were detected.

35 of them flew to the Western Pacific to the southwest, south and southeast of Taiwan to conduct long-range training, the ministry said, adding that it sent its own forces to keep watch.

On Saturday, the ministry said China carried out a new “joint combat readiness patrol” with warships and aircraft near Taiwan.

In related news, a source said yesterday that the first sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) purchased from the United States in 2020 and 2022 arrived in Taiwan ahead of schedule last month.

The Army purchased 29 sets of HIMARS in two supplies; The first 11 sets were initially planned to arrive between the end of this year and the beginning of next year, with the rest in 2026.

The source said that the 58th Artillery Command of the 10th Corps, located in central Taiwan, was training with the platforms.

Taiwan had initially wanted to purchase M109A6 howitzer artillery guns from the United States but later made a deal to purchase HIMARS after the howitzers became unusable.

In addition to HIMARS, 84 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), 864 precision rockets, two sets of training simulators and other auxiliary equipment were also purchased.

HIMARS will be operated by the military, while the air force’s Air Defense and Missile Command will continue to use domestically produced Hsiung Feng (“Brave Wind” 雄風) missile systems. ATACMS will be deployed in line with the evaluations of the General Staff Headquarters units.

Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the state-run National Defense and Security Research Institute, said during an interview that Taiwan will use two types of munitions with HIMARS: a conventional rocket with a range of 50 km. ATACMS missiles with a range of 70km and 300km.

He said the Army could probably get Precision Strike Missiles with a range of about 500 km.

The sale of 300 km-range missiles to Taiwan signals mutual trust between Taipei and Washington, which will facilitate future purchases, the official said.