JIUPENG, Taiwan, May 12 (Reuters) - Taiwan on Monday

test-fired for the first time a new U.S.-supplied rocket system

that has been widely used by Ukraine against Russia and could be

deployed to hit targets in China if there is a war with Taiwan.

The United States is Taiwan's most important arms supplier,

despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties. Taiwan has faced

increased military pressure from China, including several rounds

of war games, as Beijing seeks to assert its sovereignty claims

over the island.

Taiwan has bought 29 of Lockheed Martin's ( LMT ) precision

weapon High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, with

the first batch of 11 received last year and the rest set to

arrive by next year.

With a range of about 300 km (186 miles), they could hit

coastal targets in China's southern province of Fujian, on the

other side of the Taiwan Strait, in the event of conflict.

The U.S.-trained Taiwan military team fired the rockets from

the Jiupeng test centre on a remote part of the Pacific coast.

Officer Ho Hsiang-yih told reporters U.S. personnel from the

manufacturer were at the site to tackle any problems.

"I believe that this rocket firing shows our people the

military's determination to protect the country's security and

safeguard our beautiful homeland," he added.

HIMARS, one of Ukraine's main strike systems, has been used

multiple times during the war with Russia. In March, Australia

said it had received the first two of 42 HIMARS launcher

vehicles.

The test came a day after Taiwan said it had detected

another "joint combat readiness patrol" by China's military near

the island, involving warplanes and warships.

Taiwan's democratically-elected government rejects China's

sovereignty claims, saying only the island's people can decide

their future.