After China-US relations seriously worsen due to the provocative trip to Taiwan made by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi earlier this month, Washington, instead of reflecting on its own mistakes and correcting them, continues to provoke China with the latest reported trip by US lawmakers to Taiwan on Thursday night. It keeps its chicanery and tries to make the world believe that China’s legitimate actions, including military drills that encircled the island, to safeguard its sovereignty are “overreaction,” and to cover the fact that it was the US who ignored China’s repeated serious warnings to damage the regional peace and stability to serve Washington’s selfish and hegemonic anti-China strategy. China on Thursday released 11 facts to clearly refute the US lies and reaffirmed China’s rights to take military countermeasures.
The 11 facts released by the Chinese state media Xinhua News Agency comprehensively covered the Taiwan question and current tension from different aspects, including reaffirming that the one-China principle is the political foundation of China-US relations, and that the US Congress is a part of the US government which should also abide by the three China-US joint communiqués, and the ones who changed the status quo of Taiwan Straits and provoked crisis are the US and the Taiwan secessionist forces.
The newly released long article also stressed that “the Taiwan question and the Ukraine issue are different in nature. Taiwan is not and has never been a country. It is a part of China. The Taiwan question and the Ukraine issue are not comparable at all,” and “The responsibility for the suspension of China-US climate talks is on the US. When it comes to climate change and other issues about global governance on the environment, China will stay committed to international cooperation and continue to honor its commitments with real actions.”
Zhu Guilan, an expert from the Institute of Taiwan Studies under Tsinghua University, told the Global Times on Thursday that the “11 facts” listed in the latest report clearly illustrate the legal, theoretical and historical facts of the one-China principle, but also highlight the image of the US as a belligerent and destroyer of regional peace and stability.
Zhu said the report explained to the Chinese and foreign public in an orderly way that the main culprit of Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan region was the US, and that China only took necessary actions to protect its core interests. “It also shows the world that the US has long been dominating international public opinion on the Taiwan question and distorting facts.”
Senior Colonel Tan Kefei, spokesperson for China’s Ministry of National Defense, at the monthly routine press conference on Thursday refuted US’ accusation that the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) military drills around Taiwan escalated tension. He said that the recent drills are “open, transparent, professional and moderate. They are responses and warnings to the ones who provoke and make troubles,” and that the US is the initiator of this crisis, so it should and must take the full responsibility.
According to the maritime safety administration bureau of Fujian Province on Wednesday, live fire drills will be conducted on Friday and Saturday in a coastal region close to the mainland side of Taiwan Straits.
A Ka-28 anti-submarine helicopter of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on the flight deck of the Type 052C guided missile destroyer Changchun on August 8, 2022. The PLA Eastern Theater Command continued realistic combat-oriented joint exercises in sea and air space around the island of Taiwan on Monday. Photo: Courtesy of PLA Eastern Theater Command’s Sina Weibo account
Provocations and countermeasures
The US still refuses to admit the terrible mistake it made. More US delegations have also arrived on the island of Taiwan to undermine the one-China principle and encourage the secessionist authorities on the island with the pretext of “democracy and freedom.” But experts said that it’s impossible for the US to reconnect with China on the dialogue channels on issues like climate change and national defense, and China won’t cooperate with the US in the areas that it needs China’s cooperation until Washington sincerely corrects its mistakes with concrete actions.
According to Taiwan-based media, a US delegation is expected to land on the island on Thursday night, which is the 4th of such act in August. Analysts said it’s obvious who keeps making provocations and keeps the tension from easing by endless troublemaking.
There is an excuse that is frequently used by the US side to defend the visits made by the Congress members – “The White House can’t control or order Congress.” To this, the Xinhua-released article said, “The US, as one country, must have one foreign policy only. As part of the US government, Congress has the responsibility to deliver on the US government’s commitments to other countries.”
The US Congress must strictly observe the one-China policy and refrain from any official exchanges with China’s Taiwan region. Under neither international law nor US domestic legislation does “separation of powers” give the US the excuse to defy international obligations and take actions that go against the basic norms governing international relations, provoke against China’s sovereignty, and break its own commitment on the Taiwan question, said the article.
Yuan Zheng, deputy director and senior fellow of the Institute of American Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that the latest report can be viewed as China’s countermeasures to US’ “cognitive warfare” against China after Pelosi’s Taiwan region visit, as the US kept hyping China’s “overreaction,” distorting facts and calling black white.
It’s necessary for China to refute US’ false remarks, as China warned the US of the consequence multiple times before Pelosi’s provocative trip, Yuan said, noting that “More importantly, while the world is watching the Taiwan Straits situation get worse because of Pelosi, China seizes the chance and further clarifies its position on the Taiwan question.”
China is sending a message that not only the US, but all countries that have diplomatic relations with China, need to respect China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, honor their commitment to the one-China principle. This is even clearer to countries that intend to follow US’ step in playing the “Taiwan card.”
Future with uncertainty
After Pelosi’s provocative visit to Taiwan, more and more US politicians have been encouraged to do the same. There will likely be more and more delegations formed by lawmakers and state governors to the island in the coming months until the midterm election later this year, because “being hawkish toward China” is a political correctness in the US today due to the sick political atmosphere, so these politicians can receive reputations domestically while also earn easy money from Taiwan, analysts said.
Therefore, it’s almost impossible to see any possibility to prevent China-US ties from worsening, because the US has already proved that it doesn’t want to respect China even after China sent serious warnings on the most sensitive Taiwan question, and Washington will pay serious price in this US-provoked major power confrontation, as it will lose its hegemonic position and receive extra damages, experts noted.
The strategic mutual trust between China and the US has been seriously damaged by the Pelosi incident, Xin Qiang, director of the Taiwan studies center with the Shanghai-based Fudan University and the deputy head of the university’s US studies center, told the Global Times.
Biden came to power at a time when China-US relations reached a lowest point in four decades, analysts said, noting that in fact, China was hopeful that the bilateral relations would improve under Biden administration. The two countries’ top leaders even held a phone call a few days before Pelosi’s visit.
China did its best to stop Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan region, and was forced to take corresponding measures, including suspending some bilateral communication channels and cooperation mechanisms, after the visit, Xin said.
As for whether, when and to what extent cooperation can be resumed, experts said that the US must first present clear attitude, show sufficient goodwill and take practical actions before China will consider resuming it, otherwise the situation is very likely to continue.
The US is showing its hegemonic mentality in accusing China of undermining cooperation, Yuan said. “The premise of cooperation is mutual respect for each other’s core interests. It is hard to accept the logic that the US, despite China’s opposition, continues to push forward the strategy of containing China with Taiwan card, but in turn make China cooperate.”
“The US has already harmed China’s core interests, so the Chinese government must respond to the US, and the Chinese people’s angers and furies on this matter are even stronger than what the US could expect. So, there is no condition for cooperation between the two countries at this moment,” Yuan said.
Not only the Biden administration, but also the entire US elite and strategic community need to reflect carefully about what kind of relationship the US needs with China, Yuan said. “Picking up a fight with a China that is growing increasingly strong is not a fun game, and China has always stressed principles of mutual respect, win-win cooperation, no confrontation. The US should change its outdated hegemonic thinking and view China’s rise in a correct way.”
Experts said actively provoking a confrontation with China will hurt the US itself. The US has been continuously playing the Taiwan card to contain China, which will damage American self-claimed image of “peace and democracy,” as well as its coordination and cooperation ability to deal with major global issues, including the Ukraine crisis, the conflicts in the Middle East and Korean Peninsula, and climate change, Zhu said.
The US is incapable of tackling a host of domestic problems, including inflation that is largely of its own making. However, US politicians’ attempts to divert domestic anxiety abroad are creating more enemies for the US, Yuan said, noting that long-term great-power confrontation will further deplete US national strength and will ultimately cost the US a huge price.
(Global Times)
