Taiwan Army Conducts Combat Readiness Drills on Matsu; Missile Output Expansion Announced

The Taiwan Army conducted combat readiness drills on the Matsu islands on March 29, in the context of elevated PLA activity in the adjacent sea lanes. Simultaneously, Taiwan announced plans to expand missile output to strengthen its T-Dome air defense system — a domestic successor to the Patriot family — as the special defense budget deadlock has delayed procurement of some US-made systems. The Matsu island chain, located just 11 km off Fuzhou, China, has been subject to increasing PLA drone overflights and coast guard pressure since 2022. The exercises come amid calls by AIT Director Greene for Taiwan to pass the special defense budget that covers both the T-Dome program and US-origin HIMARS, PAC-3, and NASAMS systems. Taiwan also confirmed that the HIMARS Letter of Offer and Acceptance signed before the March 26 deadline secured the delivery queue position.