(MENAFN- Asia Times)
The Chinese army has vowed to safeguard China's national sovereignty and territorial integrity ahead of US Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi's possible visit to Taiwan later this week.
Pelosi announced the itinerary of her Asia tour on Sunday but did not mention a stop in self-governing Taiwan, which China considers a renegade province that must eventually be“reunited” with the mainland. Taiwanese media said Monday she might arrive in Taipei on Tuesday evening .
Shen Jinke, spokesperson of China's Air Force, said the People's Liberation Army (PLA) would dispatch different kinds of fighter jets to fly around the Taiwan island to increase its ability to safeguard the country's sovereignty.
The Guangdong Maritime Bureau announced that the PLA would have a shooting drill on the west side of the Leizhou peninsula between 2 am on Tuesday and 5 pm on Wednesday. Meanwhile, China's Maritime Safety Administration said the PLA would hold military exercises in the South China Sea between Tuesday and Saturday.
On Monday, the PLA's Eastern Theater Command posted a video on its Weibo account saying that the Chinese army would obey the order and fight the battles while chanting a slogan saying,“We will bury invading enemies. Forward to common victory!”
Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden held a two-hour phone call on July 28 to discuss trade, Taiwan and the Ukraine war amid rising bilateral tensions. However, no new agreement has been announced by either side so far.
On Taiwan, Xi warned Biden that those who played with fire would perish in flames. He said China firmly opposed separatist moves toward Taiwan independence and interference by external forces. He said he hoped the US would be clear-eyed on the issue and honor the“One China” principle and implement its three joint communiqués both in word and deed.
On Sunday, Pelosi said in a statement that she was leading a Congressional delegation to the Indo-Pacific region, including visits to Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan without mentioning a stopover in Taiwan. On Monday, her plane landed in Singapore.
An article published by mainland various Chinese websites said Sunday that the 82-year-old House Speaker's Taiwan visit had been confirmed but it would only be an informal visit while Pelosi would only represent herself, instead of the US government, on the self-governing island. The article was later inexplicably removed from the sites.
Other Chinese commentators have been more provocative. Hu Xijin, former editor-in-chief of the Communist Party-run Global Times and a high-profile commentator, tweeted on Saturday that the PLA's fighter jets should deploy all obstructive tactics if the US military sent fighter jets to escort Pelosi to Taiwan. Hu said he thought the PLA should shoot down Pelosi's plane if necessary.
His Twitter account was blocked as his tweet was deemed by Twitter to have violated the platform's rules, and Hu had to delete the tweet to unlock his account.
Zhao Lijian, a spokesperson of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Monday:“If Pelosi goes to Taiwan, it will be a gross interference in China's internal affairs, seriously hurt China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, willfully trample on the One China principle, seriously threaten the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait, seriously undermine China-US relations, and lead to very serious events and consequences.
“The Chinese side once again warned the US side that the Chinese side is standing by, and the PLA will never sit idly by.”
China's People's Liberation Army Navy holds live-fire drills in the South China Sea in a file photo. Image: Agencies
Jin Canrong, professor and associate dean of China's School of International Studies at Renmin University, said in an article published by Guancha.cn on Monday that China had a military advantage in both the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait as the range of its ballistic missiles, as well as China's Air Force, could fully cover the two regions. Jin added that China's navy would have certain advantages if fighting erupted against some US fleets.
Jin said if the US wanted to create conflicts in the Taiwan strait, it would not benefit much. He added that if China could use the chance to occupy Taiwan, it could break the US' First Island Chain and freely enter the Pacific Ocean.
Last Friday, a Weibo account operated by the PLA posted a message“preparing for war” without any elaborations.
Ta Kung Pao, a Hong Kong-based pro-Beijing newspaper, said on Saturday that the PLA had completed four shooting drills and military exercises in the sea near Fujian's Pingtan County, Zhuhai's Dawanshan Island and the Qiongzhou Strait near Hainan province as well as the East China Sea.
It also reported that the PLA would hold a shooting drill on the west side of the Leizhou peninsula on Tuesday and Wednesday, potentially coinciding with Pelosi's visit.
The Chinese Air Force's spokesperson Shen said on Sunday that different kinds of fighter jets would be sent to fly around Taiwan while China's Y-20U tanker aircrafts and J-16 fighter jets had recently increased drilling to prepare for possible war.
China's J-16 fighter jet like this one could be in the sky if US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi visits Taiwan. Photo: eng.chinamil.com.cn
On the same day, the PLA hosted a celebration activity as Monday marks the 95th anniversary of its establishment. Defense Minister Wei Fenghe said in an opening speech at the event that the Chinese army would accelerate its modernization so that China's national defense ability would match the nation's international status.
Song Zhongping, Phoenix Television's military commentator, said if Pelosi visited Taiwan the US navy would probably send the USS Ronald Reagan, a nuclear-powered supercarrier, to Bashi Channel between Taiwan and the Philippines, to check the situation. Song said the US navy would also likely deploy reconnaissance planes, particularly the RC-135V, to the Miyako Strait between Taiwan and Japan.
On Monday, Chinese media criticized Pelosi for trying to use her Taiwan visit to divert public attention so that people would not focus on her husband Paul Pelosi, who was accused last week of selling his shares of chipmaker Nvidia days before the House approved subsidies and tax credits to boost the US semiconductor sector.
Read: What to expect when Biden talks to Xi
Follow Jeff Pao on Twitter at @jeffpao3
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