US?arms sale only a?'bomb' to Taiwan

On Monday, the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command conducted comprehensive drills involving destroyers, frigates, fighters, and bombers in the waters and airspace surrounding Taiwan Island. These exercises, which focused on assaulting maritime targets, seizing regional air superiority, and executing submarine hunting and anti-submarine operations, demonstrated the PLA's enhanced capabilities in sea-air coordination and precise target neutralization. The drills unequivocally showcased the PLA's strong will and robust capability to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Earlier this month, the United States announced a record arms sales — totaling $11.1 billion — to China's Taiwan region, surpassing the total arms sold to the island during the four years of the earlier Joe Biden administration. The weapons being sold this time include Javelin anti-tank missiles and HIMARS rocket systems, which both the island and the US have called "tools to deter the Chinese mainland", reflecting their provocative, arrogant and overconfident stance. Since Lai Ching-te became Taiwan leader, he has intensified his push for "Taiwan independence" by relying on military means and soliciting US support. Essentially, Lai is walking further down the wrong road of destroying Taiwan and selling out the island.

The US government has long exploited the Democratic Progressive Party's pursuit of "Taiwan independence" ambitions by selling arms to the island, and thus trying to contain the Chinese mainland.

The latest arms sales, however, together with other US policies — such as pressuring chip companies in Taiwan to relocate to the US, imposing a 20 percent tariff on Taiwan goods, and the reported request for more than $350 billion in investment from the island — show that the US only treats Taiwan as a "lamb to the slaughter", aiming to extract more tangible benefits, which will inevitably accelerate Taiwan's economic decline.

Driven by unrealistic political fantasies, the Lai Ching-te authorities are actively cooperating with the US, disregarding the livelihoods of the people on the island and trading the people's resources for US support. This will prove to be self-destructive.

The historically large-scale sale of arms also reflects the Lai authorities' disregard for public opinion and their attempt to split the two sides of the Taiwan Strait and create confrontation. Since Lai became Taiwan leader, he has claimed that cross-Strait relations remain "hostile", and called the Chinese mainland an "external hostile force". The Lai authorities keep advocating for strengthening "defense", the purpose of which is to manipulate public opinion to suit their ulterior motives.

The sharp increase in arms purchase this time was apparently long planned. Judging by Lai's statements and speeches on various occasions, the DPP seems determined to gradually increase the island's so-called "defense budget" to 5 percent of the island's GDP. The $11.1 billion arms sales package seems part of a move to achieve that goal.

In the long run, the US seems to be gradually assigning the military tasks on the so-called "first island chain", including China's Taiwan island and several neighboring countries. So the Lai authorities will only become more reckless in seeking "Taiwan independence" through military buildup. It's highly likely cross-Strait relations will face more severe situations because of the US military's strategies and Taiwan authorities' bold provocations.

The sharp increase in US arms sales to Taiwan is closely related to the adjustment of the US global strategy. To align with these adjustments, the Lai authorities do not hesitate to sacrifice the interests of 23 million people on the island, displaying a servile attitude toward the US and willing to go to any lengths to sell out the island's interests. To achieve their political goals, the Lai authorities took a series of steps, including launching the "mass recall campaign", to create a chilling effect. In the meantime, their poor response to natural disasters sparked disillusionment among people on the island.

Facts have shown that those who sell out the island's interests will eventually be abandoned by its people. Not surprisingly, the impeachment proposal against Lai, which was initiated by members of the Chinese Kuomintang and Taiwan People's Party, was approved by the island's public opinion body. An online petition for Lai's impeachment has garnered over 8 million participants, which is the best evidence of his loss of public support.

The author is director of the Institute of Taiwan Studies, Wuhan University.

The views don't necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

If you have a specific expertise, or would like to share your thought about our stories, then send us your writings at opinion@chinadaily.com.cn, and comment@chinadaily.com.cn.