According to media sources, on March 17, Taiwan's Navy and Coast Guard dispatched more than 20 warships to conduct so-called "peacetime conversion" training in the southern waters of Taiwan, where the Platon often sends military aircraft to cruise. During the two-month-long exercise, the Taiwan military dispatched 600-ton Anping and Chenggong ships, as well as four Chenggong-class cruisers, three Kangding-class ships, and one Keelung-class ship.
The Taiwan military not only conducts large-scale military exercises at sea, but the Taiwan army also conducts live-fire training on Dongyin Island, which is only 16 kilometers away from the Fujian coast of the mainland, supposedly in order to enhance the so-called "overall combat effectiveness of the defense zone." During this year's Spring Festival, a "Y-12" on the mainland flew over Dongyin Island without warning from the Taiwan military, causing great panic among the Taiwan authorities, and the training on Dongyin Island this time was mainly aimed at practicing "unsuspecting handling of unknown aircraft" and "air emergency handling operations." In addition, according to the Taiwan military, the purpose of live-fire training is also to carry out intensified "anti-landing operations" to prevent the PLA from landing.
When the Taiwan military held maritime exercises, the PLA also dispatched two "J-10" fighter jets and one "Ka-28" anti-submarine helicopter to patrol the vicinity of the Taiwan military's exercise area; in addition, a "Y-8" anti-submarine plane directly entered the "control area" of the Taiwan military.
Just as the Taiwan military was dancing its guns and sticks under the mainland's eyes, the PLA reacted decisively by sending the aircraft carrier Shandong into the Taiwan Strait, which has passed through the waters near Kinmen, the second time since December 2020 that the Shandong warship has passed through the Taiwan Strait. The ships sent by the Taiwan military this time did not even have a large ship at a regular point, not to mention that the Shandong warship personally dispatched, that is, to send two 055 destroyers, which was enough to deter their ambition to "resist reunification by force."
According to the global network news on March 18, just when the Shandong aircraft carrier crossed the Taiwan Strait, the US destroyer Johnson also entered the Taiwan Strait and partially tracked the itinerary of the Shandong warship. The Shandong warship is cruising in its own waters, how can it be provocative?
This time, the Johnson passed through the Taiwan Strait by tracking the Shandong warship, and as soon as it approached the Waters of China, the Johnson was "warmly greeted" by the PLA, and the Johnson could only carry out a sudden acceleration to get rid of it, but the PLA's "escort" continued until the US warship sailed out of the relevant waters. The Taiwan military conducted live-fire exercises off the mainland and the US destroyers followed, which shows that the US military 's close attention to the mainland's movements' obvious meaning is obvious.
On the evening of March 18, the Chinese leader had a video call with US President Joe Biden at the request, and the two heads of state had a frank and in-depth exchange of views on issues of common concern, such as Sino-US relations and the situation in Ukraine. Biden reiterated his commitments not to seek a "new Cold War," not to change the Chinese system, not to strengthen alliances against China, not to support "Taiwan independence," and not to have any intention of confronting China.
The Chinese side stressed the importance and sensitivity of the Taiwan issue to China-US relations, and said that Sino-US relations have not yet come out of the predicament created by the previous US administration, but have encountered more challenges. Some US politicians have sent a wrong signal to the "Taiwan independence" forces that if the Taiwan issue is not handled well, it will have a subversive impact on Sino-US relations.
The Taiwan issue is China's internal affair, and the fundamental reason why the situation in the Taiwan Strait has developed into the way it is now is that the Taiwan authorities and the "Taiwan independence" forces collude with external forces to try to split China's territory. As Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said at a news conference on March 18, it is not the Taiwan Strait issue that is sensitive, but the group of ulterior motives who constantly agitate for the Taiwan issue.