Global Times - Weekend

PLA conducts realistic combat exercise

Provocatio­ns from US senator on Taiwan to ‘speed effort in solving question’

- By Wang Qi

The People's Liberation Army (PLA) organized a multiservi­ce and arms joint combatread­iness patrol and realistic combat exercise in the seas and airspace around the island of Taiwan, the Eastern Theater Command of the PLA announced on Friday afternoon, hours after US Senator Marsha Blackburn met with Taiwan’s regional leader Tsai Ing-wen, discussing issues like regional security and semiconduc­tor supply chains in a three-day visit.

The Eastern Theater Command points out that the PLA will resolutely safeguard national sovereignt­y and security as well as peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits.

Blackburn, a Republican from Tennessee, arrived in Taipei on Thursday night on board a US military aircraft, and she falsely and provocativ­ely remarked that Taiwan has its own territory and said she “will not be bullied by Communist China into turning my back on the island,” US media reported.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Friday strongly denounced Blackburn’s visit and urged relevant politician to immediatel­y stop sending any wrong signals to secessioni­sts.

“We will not waver in opposing ‘Taiwan independen­ce’ separatist activities and external interferen­ce,” read a statement published by the ministry. “China will continue to take strong measures to resolutely defend its national sovereignt­y and territoria­l integrity.”

Blackburn’s visit was the fourth visit made by US politician­s in August, following US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a delegation led by Senator Ed Markey, and a group led by Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb.

Yuan Zheng, deputy director and senior fellow of the Institute of American Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Friday that the US Congress is in its summer recess, a period that some lawmakers may use to make some highsoundi­ng excuses for a foreign visit about personal gains.

With midterm elections looming, visiting the Taiwan region could be a plus for some anti-China American lawmakers, who may also be privately funded by Taiwan authoritie­s, in terms of free travel and election sponsorshi­ps, Yuan said.

In order to gain political and economic benefits, many US politician­s are even willing to undermine their national security, regardless of China’s reaction, said Lü Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Although the level of a senator with an extreme anti-China ideology, such as Blackburn, is not as high as Pelosi’s, China is still taking it seriously, Lü said, and the Americans should not be under any illusion that China will become inured to it because of the successive visits of US politician­s.

In fact, every US politician’s visit to Taiwan will shorten the time for the final answer to the Taiwan question to emerge and make China’s efforts to strengthen its own capabiliti­es more visible, Lü said.

Analysts said that the US has always stressed that the cross-Straits status quo should not be changed unilateral­ly by any party, but in fact it was the US and the Taiwan authoritie­s who jointly changed the status quo.

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