Armored vehicles mounted with Tor anti-aircraft missile systems attached to an air defense brigade under the PLA Eastern Theater Command fire at mock aerial targets during a whole-process live-fire test in northwestern China's Gobi desert on July 26, 2020. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Wang Wenzhou)

 

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command said Wednesday it sent naval and air forces to track and monitor the movements of the USS Mustin destroyer as it sailed through the Taiwan Straits on Tuesday and warned the US against making frequent negative moves on the Taiwan question.  

Chinese mainland analysts noted that the command made a similar statement last week without directly pointing at the US, but the latest response calling out the US shows that the PLA is warning the US that there will be a day when it will "settle the matter" with the US side.

The US warship was likely closely watched by PLA warships, warplanes and radar, and would be stopped if it crosses the red line, experts also said.

The US has been continuously making negative moves on the Taiwan question, which has sent the wrong signal to "Taiwan independence" forces, and severely threatened the peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits, said Senior Colonel Zhang Chunhui, the spokesperson of the PLA Eastern Theater Command.

Zhang made the comment after the US Pacific Fleet said on Tuesday that the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer "conducted a routine Taiwan Straits transit" on Tuesday. It said there have been 10 US warship transits in the Taiwan Straits this year. Media on the island of Taiwan reported on Wednesday that the US warship sailed on the western side of the "middle line" of the Taiwan Straits, which is closer to the Chinese mainland than Taiwan island.

"We sternly warn related parties that any statement and act that sabotages the one-China principle and stirs up trouble in the Taiwan Straits does not fit the fundamental interests of China and the US, and damages the well-being of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Straits, as it brings a real threat to peace and stability in the region, which is very dangerous," Zhang said.

Analysts believed the warning is one of the most stern ever sent by the PLA, and the "real threat" noted by the PLA spokesperson means the Chinese military considered the US latest move very serious.  

Chinese mainland military expert Song Zhongping told the Global Times on Wednesday that the "real threat" means the US has normalized warship transits in the Taiwan Straits and crossed into the mainland side. This would increase the risk of collisions, and even an accidental conflict.

If a military conflict breaks out between China and the US, the PLA needs to be prepared in the South China Sea and East China Sea, because such a conflict will very likely not be limited to one region, but a wider one, Song said, stressing this is why China and the US should not engage in a war.

The Nanjing, a PLA Navy Type 052D destroyer, was spotted following the US ship, Taiwan media reported.

In addition to one or more warships, the PLA also likely sent warplanes, possibly including early warning aircraft, special mission aircraft, reconnaissance drones and fighter jets, to monitor the US warship's movements, a Chinese mainland military expert who asked not to be named told the Global Times on Wednesday.

The PLA also likely organized many of its surveillance capabilities, including radar installations and satellites, to track the US warship. And in case it crosses the red line, like trespassing into Chinese territorial waters, an immediate response would include measures to expel it, the expert said. He said that a US warship in the Taiwan Straits is like a rat in a hole that is easy to catch, as the PLA's concentrated surveillance on it means all kinds of anti-ship weapons can be sent there, if necessary.

Xu Guangyu, a senior adviser to the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, told the Global Times previously that US military activities can serve as "simulated enemies" of the PLA, which can help the PLA prepare for actual combat.

Troops of the Eastern Theater Command will always be on high alert in defending national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and safeguarding peace and stability in the Taiwan Straits, the spokesperson said.

This is the second time the Eastern Theater Command has announced PLA operations in the Taiwan Straits in the past two weeks. 

On August 13, Zhang said the command sent troops from multiple military branches to several locations, and organized consecutive, realistic drills in the Taiwan Straits and its northern and southern ends. On February 9 and 10, the Eastern Theater Command also announced a combat readiness patrol and joint drills aimed at Taiwan secessionists.