A Chinese senior military official has declared that Beijing should prepare to attack United States naval vessels, should the US violate Chinese “territorial waters,” according to Taiwan News.
Speaking from a Saturday conference in Beijing, Dai Xu – President of the Institute of Marine Safety and Cooperation, and a PLA Air Force Colonel Commandant, reportedly said:
“If the U.S. warships break into Chinese waters again, I suggest that two warships should be sent: one to stop it, and another one to ram it… In our territorial waters, we won’t allow US warships to create disturbance.”
“The US keeps meddling in China’s affairs, so why can’t China go to areas like Hawaii where the US is “dominant,” he added.
Xu was referring to the frequent Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPs) conducted by the United States in the South China Sea – the most recent of which saw two US military vessels through the region for four days – a passage which was later confirmed by the Pentagon.
An Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer and a Henry Kaiser-class fleet replenishment oiler sailed through the Taiwan Strait Wednesday, in what the Navy called a routine transit.
“USS Stockdale (DDG-106) and USNS Pecos (T-AO-197) conducted a routine Taiwan Strait Transit on Nov. 28 (local time), in accordance with international law,” Lt. j.g. Rachel McMarr, a U.S. Pacific Fleet spokesperson, told USNI News in an email. “The ships’ transit through the Taiwan Strait demonstrates the U.S. commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The U.S. Navy will continue to fly, sail and operate anywhere international law allows.” –USNI News
Xu also suggested that a South China Sea conflict may push China towards targeting Taiwan and force reunification.
“It would boost the speed of our unification of Taiwan… Let’s just be prepared and wait. Once a strategic opportunity emerges, we should be ready to take over Taiwan,” he said.
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