TAIPEI – Taiwan has received its first batch of High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (Himars) from the United States, Taipei’s defence ministry said on Nov 6.

       Washington has long been Taipei’s most important ally and biggest arms supplier – angering Beijing, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory.

       In the past five decades, the US 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 US and the first 11 have arrived, Deputy Defence Minister Po Horng-huei told a parliamentary committee.

       He did not say how much Taiwan paid for the order or when they arrived.

       In its 2023 defence report, Taiwan said “in the past two years, the US agreed to supply and sell weapons and equipment to Taiwan, including Himars”.

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       China has ramped up military pressure on Taiwan in recent years to pressure Taipei into accepting its claims of sovereignty.

       Beijing has refused to rule out using force to bring the island under its control.

       While US arms supplies to Taiwan are enshrined into law, Washington has long maintained a so-called “strategic ambiguity” when it comes to deploying troops to defend the island.

       Taiwan Defence Minister Wellington Koo told reporters on Nov 5 that Taipei was “determined to continuously strengthen our self-defence capabilities” and this should be made clear to whoever wins the US presidential election.

       Taiwan would be massively outgunned in terms of troop numbers and firepower in any war with China and in recent years has jacked up spending on its military.

       Taipei allocated a record US$19 billion (S$25 billion) for 2024 and the 2025 budget is set to hit a new high, as it seeks to bolster a more agile defence approach.

       Covid-19 supply chain disruptions and US weapons shipments to Ukraine and Israel have slowed American arms sales to Taiwan.

       The backlog now exceeds US$20 billion, according to Washington think tank Cato Institute. AFP