The US and Taiwan navies joined hands to quietly do a big thing, but they did not expect that the mainland had already discovered it, and even laid a "net of heaven and earth" long ago.
1. The United States and Taiwan conduct "low-key" joint military exercises
According to British media reports, in April this year, the United States and Taiwan carried out a "low-key" joint naval exercise in the western Pacific, but the specific date was not disclosed by the media.
A person familiar with the matter pointed out that the United States and Taiwan sent a total of six ships to participate in the joint military exercise, including frigates, supply ships, and support vessels from the United States and Taiwan, and the military exercise lasted several days, mainly carrying out a number of participating tasks such as maritime communication, fuel replenishment, and supply supply.
(The United States and Taiwan secretly carried out joint naval exercises in April)
The most noteworthy thing is that this joint exercise is significantly different from many previous exercises.
First, the United States and Taiwan did not make a big deal about this "flex of muscles," and even the entire military exercise was very "low-key."
Second, the US-Taiwan joint military exercise was launched in the form of a "chance encounter."
When explaining what is called a "chance encounter", the insider summed it up in a few simple sentences: It's like when I go to a restaurant to eat, and you happen to be in that restaurant, and in the eyes of the outside world, we are just sitting at the same table.
Obviously, both the United States and Taiwan have identified this joint military exercise as a tacit understanding between the two sides, and there is no prior agreement.
As soon as the news was exposed, it spread wildly on the Internet, but the responses of the United States and Taiwan to this incident were worlds apart.
In response to Taiwan's defense department, it confirmed the existence of this joint military exercise, and also regarded it as an action to cooperate with the United States to promote the "Maritime Unplanned Encounters Rules" (CUES), which aims to deal with various complex and volatile conditions at sea and reduce mutual interference.
The Pentagon did not make any comment on this matter, and it is obvious that it has discovered that something is wrong and does not want to be dragged into the water by the Taiwan authorities.
The Chinese side is obviously aware of the secret collusion between the United States and Taiwan, and has taken two measures to prevent it.
2. China firmly opposes it
Since the Taiwan authorities have responded to this military exercise, the mainland's "warning" is inevitably indispensable.
As soon as the report of the incident came out, some reporters sought a response from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said that although it was reported that the US-Taiwan military exercise was based on an "accidental encounter", China's position on opposing US-Taiwan military ties is still clear.
Wang Wenbin also said that the Chinese side will not stop urging the United States to earnestly implement the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiques, and stop the erroneous act of military collusion between the United States and Taiwan.
Wang Wenbin even directly left harsh words to the Taiwan authorities, saying that "seeking independence by force" and "resisting reunification by force" are self-defeating.
(Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin responds to US-Taiwan military exercises)
As a matter of fact, the United States and Taiwan have always been well aware of the mainland's position on the Taiwan Strait issue, and the mainland has repeatedly expressed resolute opposition to US-Taiwan collusion.
Earlier, the U.S. Congress passed a $95 billion foreign aid package and saw it as an opportunity to change the world's development and improve the all-round strategic layout of the United States.
This aid includes not only a $61 billion military aid package for Ukraine, but also $23 billion worth of aid to Israel, and even an $8 billion aid plan for the Asia-Pacific region, including aid to the Taiwan authorities.
After learning of this US aid bill, the Taiwan authorities immediately used a series of actions to show their flattery: Their foreign affairs department expressed their "gratitude" to the United States for the aid bill, and even openly stated that the US "aid" showed its "unwavering support" for the Taiwan authorities to take power.
In this regard, the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council has also directly called out the United States on China's position, saying that its assistance has seriously violated the one-China principle and the provisions of the three Sino-US joint communiques, and has not only repeatedly sent wrong signals to "Taiwan independence", but also constantly encouraged its behavior of "seeking independence by force" and "resisting reunification by force", and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council has demanded that the United States immediately stop its actions of arming Taiwan and implement its commitment not to support "Taiwan independence" into action.
(China firmly opposes US-Taiwan military collusion)
Today, the US side is well aware of China's "red line", but still has the mentality of luck to send a wrong signal to "Taiwan independence", and even strengthens the military collusion between the United States and Taiwan in the form of "accidental encounters" in order to prevent the Chinese side from discovering it.
Obviously, in the face of the tough signals constantly released by the mainland, the United States still wants to seize Taiwan as a pawn to prevent the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and slow down the shaking of US hegemony.
However, the Chinese side has apparently been aware of this for a long time and has taken precautionary measures directly against Taiwan.
Third, the mainland has long been on guard
Now, as soon as the United States and Taiwan completed a joint naval exercise in April, the mainland coast guard has stepped up its regular patrol efforts, which undoubtedly proves that the mainland has long been aware of this incident and has strengthened its precautions against this incident to prevent the United States from interfering in its internal affairs again.
On 9 May, the Taiwan Strait Guard Department successively detected 12 mainland vessels sailing into the waters of Kinmen, including five mainland coast guard ships and seven mainland official vessels, and this was also the first time that the mainland dispatched a coast guard ship and an official vessel to patrol Taiwan at the same time.
The appearance of official vessels has also reminded the Taiwan authorities that the mainland has indisputable law enforcement power in the waters of Kinmen.
In addition, the Taiwan authorities have also found that the mainland's patrol mode has changed: the frequency of law enforcement inspections in the waters of Kinmen has increased.
Some people pointed out that the regular patrol operation carried out on the 9th was the fifth of this month, while the coast guard only carried out four law enforcement patrols in the waters of Kinmen last month, and with the continuous development of the mainland coast guard's law enforcement patrol operations, the positive views of the people on the island towards the mainland have been increasing.
(The Mainland Coast Guard strengthens regular law enforcement and patrol operations in Kinmen waters)
This is mainly due to the fact that the mainland has carried out these law enforcement actions, and its starting point is not only to safeguard the vital interests of the people on both sides of the strait, but also to prevent the military collusion between the United States and Taiwan, which will affect the personal safety of the local people.
After all, the Taiwan authorities have repeatedly exaggerated the mainland's "threat" and the mainland's backwardness in order to reduce the Taiwan people's sense of identification with the mainland and make them firmly stand on the side of "Taiwan independence." Now the mainland has broken the Taiwan authorities' public opinion calculations with its actions, which obviously has had a great impact on Lai Qingde's subsequent administration.