US-Backed Taiwan Fires Rockets Toward China In Strait Drill As Tensions Surge Over Island Defence Escalation

Taiwan test-fires US-made HIMARS rockets in China’s direction (Credit: Lockheed Martin)

Taiwan has carried out a high-profile live-fire military exercise using US-supplied HIMARS rocket systems, firing towards waters near China in a dramatic show of defensive readiness that highlights rising cross-strait tensions.

The drills, conducted on Taiwan's western coastline facing China, mark the first time the island has launched rockets from the system into the Taiwan Strait itself, a narrow and heavily contested waterway separating the two sides.