# cross‑strait tensions

Beijing Scoffs at Taiwan’s Talk of Forward‑Deploying HIMARS, Warns of ‘Annihilation’ if Fighting Starts

China’s defence ministry rebuked proposals from Taiwan to forward‑deploy HIMARS rocket systems to offshore islands and dismissed the idea of a Taiwanese “pre‑emptive strike” as reckless. Beijing framed the proposal as justification for tough deterrence measures and warned that any armed provocation would face annihilation by the PLA.