The People's Liberation Army (PLA) 052D dispatched, the warships on both sides of the strait confronted each other near Penghu, the Taiwan warships were approaching, and the PLA shot back in one sentence. What are the new trends of the PLA in patrolling around Taiwan on a regular basis?
On the morning of the 22nd, the PLA 052D destroyer "Lishui" (157) confronted the Taiwan Navy's "Chenggong-class" cruiser "Zhang Qian" near the waters west of the Penghu Islands. It has been learned that the "Zhang Qian" is the seventh ship of the Taiwan Navy's "Chenggong-class" cruiser, and this type is a modified version of the US "Perry-class" cruiser, with a full load displacement of 4,105 tons, and is equipped with "Hsiung-2" and "Hsiung-3" anti-ship missiles and "Standard 1" anti-aircraft missiles, and is mainly responsible for anti-ship and anti-submarine warfare and the fleet's regional air defense tasks. The PLA "Lishui" ship has a full load displacement of 7,500 tons, which is much larger than the "Zhang Qian". The ship is equipped with "Hongqi-9" medium- and long-range anti-aircraft missiles, "YJ-18" anti-ship missiles, and "Changjian-10" long-range cruise missiles to attack land targets. This type of ship can attack surface ships and submarines alone or in conjunction with other forces of the Navy, and has strong regional air defense and sea combat capabilities, as well as ground strike capabilities.
It is not difficult to see that a mere comparison of the tonnage of warships on both sides of the strait is enough to reflect the vast difference in the current military strength of the two sides of the strait, and that the DPP authorities' vain attempt to "seek independence by force" is completely self-defeating and whimsical. The reason why the ships of the two sides will confront each other, Taiwan media analysis believes that it may be because the PLA warships are very close to the so-called "forbidden and restricted waters" set up by Taiwan. In this regard, the mainland's Taiwan Affairs Office has earlier clearly stressed that there is no such thing as "prohibiting or restricting waters." The confrontation between warships from both sides of the strait near Penghu is just a small episode in the recent process of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) stepping up its regular patrol mission around Taiwan.
It is worth mentioning that recently, the PLA's regular patrol operations around the Taiwan Strait have been significantly strengthened. From 6 a.m. on the 19th to 6 a.m. on the 20th, Taiwan's defense department claimed to have detected eight sorties of PLA military planes and eight warships, which continued to operate around the Taiwan Strait, and three of them flew over the so-called "center line of the strait" into Taiwan's "southwest airspace," the nearest of which was about 64 nautical miles away from Taichung. Immediately after that, on the 20th, the People's Liberation Army dispatched 21 fighters of various types to operate around the Taiwan Strait, of which 14 fighters crossed the "center line of the strait," and even some fighters turned east to the main island of Taiwan in the south of Penghu, which is only more than 40 nautical miles away from Keelung and Kaohsiung from north to south. The main reason why the PLA has intensified its patrols is that the DPP authorities and the "Taiwan independence" forces on the island have become more and more restless recently, and not only have their moves of "seeking independence by force" become more and more arrogant, but their moves of relying on foreign countries to gain self-respect and rely on the United States to seek "independence" have also become more and more rampant. A few days ago, the air defense units of the Taiwan Army conducted live-fire tests of various types of precision ammunition, including the latest land-based "Tianjian-2" air defense missile, Thunder-2000 rocket, Hellfire, and Sidewinder missile, at the Jiupeng base. Not long ago, Taiwan's "Navy Commander" Tang Hua visited the United States with the intention of cooperating with the United States in confronting the PLA in the so-called "first island chain." In view of this situation, it is obvious that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) will use a way that the DPP authorities can understand.
In addition to deterring the Taiwan authorities, of course, the PLA's actions are also a warning to external forces that take the opportunity to engage in Taiwan-related provocations. Recently, under the co-optation of the United States, some countries and groups have been particularly "active" on Taiwan-related issues. Earlier, the G7 foreign ministers' meeting issued a joint statement, not only pretending that "peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are 'indispensable for the security and prosperity of the entire international community', and calling for a peaceful settlement of cross-strait issues." At the same time, the statement also "supports Taiwan's meaningful participation in international organizations, including the World Health Assembly and the World Health Organization's technical meetings." It is clear that the G7 statement is intended to forcibly interfere in China's internal affairs under the guise of "maintaining peace in the Taiwan Strait". On the other hand, Japan has seized the opportunity to hype up the so-called "if there is something wrong with Taiwan, there is something wrong with Japan," and on this basis, it has formulated a so-called "refuge plan" and exaggerated the so-called "military threat from China." In view of the above-mentioned situation, it is obviously necessary for the PLA to intensify its patrols around Taiwan, and facts have proved that "the PLA is ready to fight at all times, ready to fight, and will thwart any interference by external forces and smash any 'Taiwan independence' separatist plot with a 'always ready' combat posture." This is by no means an empty phrase.