Mainland Chinese military magazine details plans to counter Taiwan’s most advanced weapons

Analysis of island’s arms, including Himars and tanks, points out vulnerabilities, says battlefield hasn’t changed

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Taiwanese soldiers crew a US-made M1A2T Abrams tank during a live-fire drill in Hsinchu county, Taiwan in July. An analysis of the island’s newest arms, by a mainland Chinese magazine, details weaknesses and lays out possible countermeasures. Photo: EPA

Published: 11:00pm, 13 Sep 2025Updated: 11:07pm, 13 Sep 2025

A popular mainland Chinese military magazine has detailed plans to counter Taiwan’s most advanced weapons in a conflict – including its newly acquired US-made Himars multiple rocket launcher – a weapon it says does not change the battlefield.

Ordnance Science and Technology published an analysis article in August that focused on the performance of three weapons showcased by Taiwan during the annual Han Kuang military exercises – and potential countermeasures that could be used by the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

The magazine – favoured among military enthusiasts – is supervised by the Shaanxi Association for Science and Technology and mainly reports on popular science and China’s latest military developments and national defence, as well as providing analyses on the military dynamics of other countries or regions.

Taiwan’s Han Kuang exercise in July differed significantly from previous years in both scale and duration. The duration was doubled to 10 days and, for the first time, extended from coastal defence to full-scale urban warfare, simulating house-to-house combat against advancing PLA forces.

A missile is fired from a Himars during a drill in Pingtung, Taiwan, in May. Photo: EPA-EFE

The drills also featured several new pieces of equipment bought from the United States, including the Lockheed Martin Himars (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) and US M1A2T Abrams tanks.

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Mainland Chinese military magazine details plans to counter Taiwan’s most advanced weapons

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Analysis of island’s arms, including Himars and tanks, points out vulnerabilities, says battlefield hasn’t changed

Analysis of island’s arms, including Himars and tanks, points out vulnerabilities, says battlefield hasn’t changed