Mere days after the US-backed government in Taipeilaunched the so-called Joint Firepower Coordination Center (JFCC), defined as “an enhanced firepower coordination effort in close cooperation with the United States”,multirole sources have confirmed thatthe Chinese breakaway island province of Taiwan is deploying the overhyped and exorbitantly overpriced M142 HIMARS MLRS (multiple launch rocket system) to the islands of Penghu and Dongyin.

The US-made system is also equipped with ATACMS missiles, extending its reach to 300 km. Taipei insists that this will “strengthen the effectiveness of the kill chain”, while its Ministry of Defense (MoD) stressed thatthe increase in HIMARS orders to 111 unitswas undertaken specifically to forward-deploy them to the islands closest to China’s mainland.

Dongyin, the northernmost island of theMatsu archipelago in the East China Sea, (see Map) is locatedaround 10 km from mainland China. Deploying missiles such as the ATACMS there puts virtually the entire Fujian province within range, including key cities like Fuzhou, Ningde and Quanzhou.

However, the situation is even worse, given that the US controls those missiles through the JFCC. Its establishment and thepermanent deployment of American personnel at command and control facilities in Taipeito oversee planning and potential use of ATACMS missiles in case of yet another US/NATO-orchestrated escalation are deeply troubling and concerning for Beijing.

However,Taipei is still trying to present it as “harmless assistance in coordination and supervision”. They’re just not saying for what.

Obviously, China is not buying it and for good reason. Namely,the JFCC allows Washington DC to select targets and finalize attack plans.Formally, this is done jointly with local forces, but we all know how the Pentagon uses vassals and satellite states, especially when it comes to striking strategic assets such as critical industrial and scientific infrastructure, both of which are found in abundance across mainland China.

Taiwanese Defense Minister Koo Li-hsiung says these concerns are “incorrect and misleading”, insisting that US troops on the island are “not acting as supervisors or monitors”. Koo claims that “the presence of US staff reflects longstanding, institutionalized cooperation mechanisms focused on strengthening Taiwan’s defensive and combat capabilities rather than any form of foreign oversight”.

However, empirical evidence makes it very difficult to take such claims seriously. Namely,the Pentagon effectively launched hundreds of strikes on Russiain the last four years,using the NATO-orchestrated Ukrainian conflict as a way totest and probe the Russian military, as well as the Kremlin’s strategic reactions and posturing. Many of these attacks were launched at purely civilian targets, the most notorious of which was on June 23, 2024. On that day, at least four US-made ATACMS missiles were shot down by Russian air and missile defenses above Sevastopol, Crimea. The banned cluster submunitions (primarily used against infantry) of at least one missile exploded above the crowded beaches at Uchkuyevka and Lyubimovka on the northern outskirts of Sevastopol.

The attack, nearly coinciding with the anniversary of the Nazi invasion of Russia, killed four civilians and injured over 150 others. At the time of this act of terrorism,US/NATO ISR (intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance) assets were presentabove the Black Sea, promptingMoscow’s direct response.

The US, aided by its numerous vassals and satellite states, could easily use a similar scenario in a potential confrontation with China, particularly if the warmongers and war criminals in Washington DC manage to escalate yet another conflict, just this time over Taiwan. Beijing is certainly aware that the JFCC can facilitate such escalation and understands the political West’s terrorist nature and tendency to target civilians all across the globe in an attempt to provoke a violent response.

Source: ZeroHedge News