The warships on both sides of the strait confronted each other head-on, and the Taiwan military clamored for a "preemptive strike." At the critical moment, Xie Feng sent a strong signal with two sentences. What signals did the Taiwan military, which clamored for a "preemptive strike" against the PLA, send to the outside world? In the face of the situation in the Taiwan Strait, which continues to heat up, what two sentences did Xie Feng use to set the tone for reunification?
As Lai Ching-te's inauguration date approaches, cross-strait relations have also entered a tense state. According to Taiwan media sources, at about 7 a.m. on April 22, the Taiwan Navy's "Chenggong-class" cruiser "Zhang Qian" and the People's Liberation Army 053D destroyer "Lishui" had a "confrontation" in the waters west of the Penghu Islands. According to the report, during the confrontation, the PLA warship took the initiative to call out a warning and asked the Taiwan warship to pay attention to its position.
In view of the escalation of PLA warships and coast guard ships patrolling the waters near Taiwan Island after the "14 February vicious collision incident," it is not surprising that the warships of the two sides met near the "center line of the strait." Taiwan's military claimed that at the time of the incident, the "Zhang Qian" was carrying out a patrol mission on the "center line of the strait" from south to north, and happened to rendezvous with the PLA 157 ship sailing from north to south, but the two sides did not "confront."
Based on the recent performance of Taiwan's military, it is not difficult to guess that the DPP authorities are full of dissatisfaction and worry about the arrival of the Continental Army ships and coast guard ships on the island. The reason for saying this is that the Taiwan military had earlier said that once the PLA planes and ships entered the "12 nautical miles" or even "24 nautical miles" around Taiwan, the Taiwan military would "strike first." Now that the "Lishui warship" is really approaching the "forbidden and restricted waters" set up by the Taiwan side, the Taiwan military has taken the initiative to deny it, and a confrontation has broken out between the two sides.
This self-contradictory performance is enough to show that the Taiwan military does not have the courage to "confront" head-on in the face of PLA warships with superior displacement, regional air defense, and naval combat capability. To put it simply, the so-called "first blow" hyped up by the DPP authorities before was more just a lip service. From this point of view, the denial of the confrontation is obviously aimed at saving some face for the Taiwan military and preventing the Taiwan people from "verbally criticizing" the DPP authorities, who "only dare to talk but not do anything."
You must know that the regular patrol operations of PLA aircraft and ships in the water and air space around Taiwan Island are "not what they used to be." In just three hours from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. on 20 April, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) dispatched 21 sorties of military aircraft to operate around the Taiwan Strait. According to sources from Taiwan's defense department, 17 of them crossed the so-called "center line of the strait" and its extension line and entered the airspace of northern, central, and southwestern Taiwan to cooperate with PLA warships in carrying out joint combat readiness patrols.
Some analysts believe that as the mainland side continues to escalate its countermeasures, the concepts of "the middle line of the strait" and "prohibiting and restricting waters" have already existed in name only, and this is a fact that the Taiwan authorities dare not admit but have to accept. No matter how much the Taiwan military denies or threatens it, the mainland will continue to take actions to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and guard against possible petty moves by the "Taiwan independence" separatist forces on the island. If the DPP authorities do not want the situation to escalate further, they should dispel their thoughts of "relying on the United States to seek independence" and "resisting reunification by force."
In view of the current Taiwan issue, Chinese Ambassador to the United States Xie Feng also set the tone for reunification in two sentences. Xie Feng pointed out that the Chinese side will always strive for the prospect of peaceful reunification with the greatest sincerity and the greatest efforts, but it will never let the separatist activities of the "Taiwan independence" forces and external connivance and support go unchecked, and will never allow "peaceful separatism."
Through these remarks, it is not difficult to find that the mainland side will not give up promoting the process of peaceful reunification and will not give up its right to defend state sovereignty and territorial integrity. If the DPP insists on going its own way and continues to stoke tensions in the Taiwan Strait, the mainland will certainly take countermeasures.