Taiwan has received its first batch of High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) from the United States, Taipei’s defence ministry said Wednesday, as the island races to boost its defences against a potential Chinese attack.
Washington has long been Taipei’s most important ally and biggest arms supplier — angering Beijing, which claims Taiwan as part of its own territory.
In the past five decades, the United States has sold Taiwan billions of dollars worth of military equipment and ammunition, including F-16 fighter jets and warships.
HIMARS, a truck-mounted unit that can launch multiple precision-guided rockets at the same time, have been used by Ukraine against Russia in their ongoing conflict.
Taiwan purchased 29 units from the United States and the first 11 have arrived on the island, deputy defence minister Po Horng-huei told a parliamentary committee.
Po did not say how much Taiwan paid for the order or when they arrived.
In its 2023 defense report, Taiwan said “in the past two years, the US agreed to supply and sell weapons and equipment to Taiwan, including HIMARS”.
China has ramped up military pressure on self-ruled Taiwan in recent…