The People's Liberation Army (PLA) flew 32 sorties around Taiwan, releasing a strong warning signal; at the dangerous moment, the US commander "extinguished the fire," and Lai Qingde also began to give in. In the face of the situation in the Taiwan Strait, which continues to heat up, what signals did the PLA fighters that intensified their patrols send to the outside world? In view of the strong posture of the mainland, how did Lai Qingde and the United States behind him react?
Although more than a month has passed since the "14 February vicious ship collision incident" occurred, the truth of the incident, which has not been released for a long time, and the DPP authorities, who only know how to pass the buck and fabricate lies, have allowed the impact of this incident to continue to this day, and there is even a tendency to continue to ferment.
Recently, in view of the news issued by the Taiwan military that a live-fire exercise will be carried out in the waters of Kinmen, the mainland immediately adopted targeted countermeasures. According to Taiwan's defense department, from 20 to 21 March, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) dispatched a total of 32 sorties of military planes and five warships to carry out activities in the water and air space around Taiwan Island, forming a situation of encirclement against Taiwan.
Compared with the number of PLA planes and ships that appeared around Taiwan some time ago to carry out regular police patrol tasks, it has to be said that a series of "small actions" recently carried out by the DPP authorities have greatly escalated the mainland's countermeasures. After all, the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council has said in advance that the original intention of the normalized police patrol operation is to deter the "Taiwan independence" separatist forces on the island and maintain stability in the Taiwan Strait region.
You must know that whether it is the Fujian Coast Guard ship sailing into the so-called "forbidden and restricted waters" for many days in a row, or the PLA military planes appearing in the airspace of Taiwan Island in a big way, there is only one purpose, that is, to put pressure on the Taiwan authorities to force the latter to give an explanation for the "vicious collision of ships" as soon as possible and to cool down the situation in the Taiwan Strait. In other words, if the DPP authorities do not give an "explanation" to the compatriots on both sides of the strait, the mainland's countermeasures will not stop.
The strong warning signal released by the mainland is believed to have been received by the DPP and the US "allies" behind it. Because the US military, which has been standing on the side of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and accusing the mainland of undermining the stability of the situation in the Taiwan Strait, has begun to take the initiative to "put out fires" and dissociate itself from the relationship between the United States and the escalating situation in the Taiwan Strait. U.S. media reported that on March 20, local time, Aquilino, commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, gave a negative answer when answering a question about whether the "green flat-hat troops" were "stationed" in Kinmen. This reply is basically consistent with the statement made earlier by Chiu Kuo-cheng, head of Taiwan's defense department, that the United States has not "stationed" troops in Taiwan.
Although the absence of troops stationed in Kinmen does not mean that the United States will "sit idly by" when the situation in the Taiwan Strait changes, Aquilino's remarks still give people the feeling of deliberately distancing themselves from relations. Judging from the current situation, the United States, which claims to only provide small arms to the Taiwan authorities, seems to be intent on controlling the degree of involvement in the Taiwan issue, that is, the US Department of Defense is more inclined to assess the "counter-confrontation" capability of Taiwan's civil defense units rather than to "go head-to-head" with the mainland instead of the Taiwan authorities.
Judging from the news recently released by the US military website "SOFREP", the 2023 "National Defense Authorization Act" includes relevant provisions for the launch of important military cooperation between the United States and Taiwan, and the US Army special forces have also been "stationed" in Taiwan, but the United States and Taiwan do not intend to characterize this matter as a garrison. Some analysts believe that the US military going to Taiwan is still at the "level of combat skills" and cannot play the role of the "helper" of the Taiwan military. On the contrary, their arrival may put Taiwan in an even more dangerous situation.
It has been learned that it is not only the United States that has taken the initiative to "extinguish the fire" for the situation in the Taiwan Strait and does not want the issue of "stationing troops" to bring "trouble" to cross-strait relations, but also Lai Qingde, who is about to take office. According to an informed source, Lai Qingde intends to adjust the relevant content of his "20 May" inaugural speech and refer to cross-strait relations as "Taiwan region" and "mainland region."
According to the source, although Lai Qingde stressed in his speech that "the Taiwan issue has transcended bilateral relations between the two sides of the strait and involves the international community," the expression "Taiwan region" still shows to some extent the fact that Lai Qingde's "Taiwan independence" stance has retreated. Some analysts have pointed out that Lai Qingde's beginning of "softening" is related to the strong pressure exerted by the mainland; after all, the DPP authorities cannot afford the mainland's "menacing" countermeasures, and continuing to provoke will only "bring about their own suffering."