Washington's overreaction to PLA drills serves as a telling sign of its duplicity: China Daily editorial

Despite Beijing unequivocally stating the military exercises it launched this week near the Taiwan island "are a serious warning and an act of containment against 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces, and a legitimate and necessary move to defend national sovereignty and uphold national unity", some still wrongly insist they are a test of the United States' and its allies' resolve to "defend" Taiwan.

They try and justify their claim by citing the timing of the drills, which came after US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's first visit to the Asia-Pacific, during which he said the US would provide "credible deterrence" in the region, including in the Taiwan Strait.

But anyone with their finger on the pulse of cross-Strait relations should have been expecting the exercises. It was inevitable that the central authorities would respond to the extremely provocative speech Taiwan leader Lai Ching-te gave last month, in which he referred to the island as "a sovereign democratic state", called the mainland a "hostile external force", and vowed a series of measures to purge mainland elements on the island.

Those espousing the view that the People's Liberation Army Eastern Theater Command's joint exercises were intended to gauge the reaction of the US should also be reminded that the drills were specifically tailored to hone combat readiness and familiarize troops with battlefield conditions to enhance operational capabilities and demonstrate the PLA's ability to crush secessionist forces.

Although the central authorities do have to take into account external factors in the country's internal affairs — particularly in relation to the Taiwan question, which the US perceives as a strategic tool, to be exploited until its utility is exhausted — they have undoubtedly seized the initiative in the cross-Strait situation and are advancing the reunification cause step by step as planned.

It is the Democratic Progressive Party authorities led by Lai that are trying to amplify the misleading view of the military drills. While vilifying their fellow compatriots as "enemies" for promoting exchanges and cooperation with the Chinese mainland, they are entrusting the island's destiny to the patronage of the US.

Lai's perception of the US as a partner, a patron, and a powerful backer of his secessionist cause is delusional. To believe that the US has any genuine concern for the interests of the island or its residents is just make-believe.

The historical truths cannot be distorted or denied. The fundamental fact that Taiwan is an integral part of China remains unalterable, regardless of the efforts by "Taiwan independence" elements and external anti-China forces to make it seem otherwise.

In a statement on Tuesday, Tammy Bruce, spokesperson for the US State Department, called the PLA's activities and rhetoric toward Taiwan "aggressive", "intimidation tactics" and "destabilizing behavior" that serve to "exacerbate tensions and put the region's security and the world's prosperity at risk", reiterating the US' "enduring commitment to our allies and partners, including Taiwan".

But although the US and some of its allies try and hype up the Taiwan question as an international issue in such a way, the one-China principle is set in stone via the binding diplomatic documents they have signed on the establishment of diplomatic relations with Beijing.

As such, the US' overreaction to the PLA's joint drills near Taiwan is a telling sign of either its duplicity on the Taiwan question or it being a dog that is being wagged by its tail.

The fundamental status quo across the Taiwan Strait is that the two sides belong to one China. It is the DPP authorities that are trying to change the perception of that with the support of the US.

The more Lai and the DPP lean on the US for support, the more harm they inflict upon Taiwan. The future and prosperity of Taiwan hinge on fostering friendly cross-Strait relations and pursuing peaceful national reunification.