China has warned Taiwan that it will be annihilated if the United States supplies ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) is deployed for use. Beijing warned Taiwan specifically against using HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) launchers armed with ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles on islets closer to the mainland than Taiwan.

According to a report by RT, Taipei has ordered 82 M142 HIMARS systems and 420 ATACMS munitions under an $11.1 billion arms sale package announced by the US government last December. The ballistic missiles have a range of 300 km, meaning their deployment to the Penghu and Dongyin islands would enable them to target large coastal areas. The potential threat posed by HIMARS systems was underscored in Chinese media coverage of a naval exercise conducted near Taiwan in late December.

China Warns The U.S. To “IMMEDIATELY STOP” Selling Arms To Taiwan

Chinese officials have long warned that the United States should not be involved with Taiwan, especially when it comes to weapons supplies. Beijing has regarded U.S. arms supplies to Taiwan as a destabilizing element in cross-strait relations, arguing that they encourage pro-independence factions to engage in increasingly risky behavior.

At the end of December, China launched large-scale military drills near Taiwan, as U.S. influence in the region increased.

China Launched “Large-Scale” Military Drills Near Taiwan

Taiwan’s de facto autonomy originates from its status as the last refuge of nationalist forces defeated in the 1940s Chinese civil war. Beijing seeks peaceful reunification but warns that any move toward a formal declaration of independence by Taipei will be met with military force. –RT

Tensions have been slowly creeping upward since Donald Trump took office for the second time. Not only is the U.S. approaching a standoff with China over Taiwan, but Washington’s tariffs are an economic war that has been difficult to avoid.

Global powder keg: U.S.-China standoff over Taiwan intensifies

With wars looking possible in several regions, is there anywhere that isn’t volitile right now?