BY TYLER DURDEN
WEDNESDAY, JUN 10, 2026 – 11:05 AM
China’s PLA military has long been known to intimidate and threaten the self-ruled island of Taiwan, mainly with large military exercises which sometime encircle it partially or completely, or else with a heavy naval boat presence in the Strait of Hormuz.Taiwan’s military often reacts by scrambling its own fighter jets to closely monitor the PLA maneuvers – seen as a natural defensive and reactive move. But this week, in a rare moment, Taiwan is finally doing some proactive flexing of its own.
EPA-EFE“Taiwan fired U.S. mobile missile launchers into the strategic waters directly facing China for the first time, sending a message of resolve to Beijing and Washington,” The Wall Street Journalreports.
This involved over 30 test rocket launches via truck-mounted High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS. Importantly, the launch site was an area near a river mouth on Taiwan’s western coast.
“This is sending a message to the Chinese that they are going to get hit hard if they try to come across the strait—and will end up with far fewer ships than they started with,” Grant Newsham, a retired US Marine colonel who served in several Indo-Pacific roles, told WSJ.
The WSJ continues with further context:
The drill was the highlight of two days of military exercises showcasing Taiwan’s preparations to combat an amphibious invasion. China considers democratically self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory and hasn’t ruled out potentially using force to absorb the island.
…Such exercises also serve as a signal to Washington that Taiwan is committed to defending itself and deserves U.S. support, with a $14 billion U.S. arms package currently on hold.
Source:
EPA-EFE