A High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) would be deployed to Penghu County and Dongyin Island (東引) in Lienchiang County (Matsu) to force the Chinese military to retreat at least 100km from the coastline, a military source said yesterday.
Taiwan has been procuring HIMARS and Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) from the US in batches.
Once all batches have been delivered, Taiwan would possess 111 HIMARS units and 504 ATACMS, which have a range of 300km.
Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA
Considering that “offense is the best defense,” the military plans to forward-deploy the systems to outlying islands such as Penghu and Dongyin so that Chinese coastal military bases would fall within the nation’s strike range, the sources said.
To survive, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) would have to withdraw its forces at least 100km inland, which would provide Taiwan with more space and earlier warning, they said.
The HIMARS are to be allocated to the artillery command headquarters of each army corps, the source said.
However, given the total number of systems procured, even if all army corps artillery commands were filled, they could not accommodate all units, the source said.
Forward-deploying the systems to defense commands on the outlying islands would be the optimal solution, considering overall strategic planning, they added.
The domestically produced Thunderbolt-2000 multiple rocket launcher system is currently deployed in Penghu, with tactical deployments in Kinmen and Lienchiang counties based on specific missions, they said.
The HIMARS and Thunderbolt-2000 systems could be used interchangeably, giving commanders greater operational flexibility, they added.
Deploying HIMARS to Penghu or Dongyin rather than on Taiwan proper would “exponentially increase” their tactical value, the source said.
ATACMS missiles deployed in Penghu would be able to cover PLA landing assembly points in Quanzhou, Xiamen and Zhangzhou in China’s Fujian Province, the source said.
As the Taiwan Strait is about 200km wide and Penghu is about 150km to 160km from Fujian, missiles launched from Penghu could strike more than 150km inland, inflicting heavy damage on second-line supply centers, they said.
Deployment to Dongyin — Taiwan’s northernmost territory — would place them even closer to China, the source said.
Dongyin is about 34km from the Sishuang Islands in China’s Xiapu County, 48km from the Dongchong Peninsula in its Lianjiang County, 87km from the Sanduao naval port and 113km from the mouth of the Min River, they said.
The mobile HIMARS units could strike targets as far north as the Wenzhou naval base in Zhejiang Province and as far south as an air force base in Fujian’s Fuzhou, and could even lock onto key radar stations and air defense positions of the PLA’s Eastern Theater Command, they said.
The most significant reason to deploy HIMARS to the outlying islands is to establish a “dead zone” that the PLA would not dare enter, the source said.
If Taiwan’s precision strike capabilities could reach deep into Fujian Province, the PLA would be forced to pull its frontline fighter jets, box-style multiple rocket launchers and supply depots to second-line bases at least 300km inland to avoid damage to its main forces, they said.
Forcing the PLA to retreat would significantly increase the amount of time it would take to fly across the Taiwan Strait or make an amphibious landing, disrupting Beijing’s plan for a “quick and decisive” invasion, and buying Taiwan precious early warning to mobilize, they said.
The Ministry of National Defense has also reserved space in a subsequent procurement to purchase the Lockheed Martin Precision Strike Missile, which has a range of up to 500km, the military source said.
Once acquired, the HIMARS could still exert pressure across the Strait, even if deployed on Taiwan proper, they said.
Combined with the ATACMS that have already been delivered, Taiwan would have more than 500 long-range tactical missiles, forming an “impenetrable precision fire network” to ensure peace and stability in the Strait, they added.
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