Two Su-35 fighter jets and a H-6K bomber fly in formation on May 11, 2018. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) air force conducted patrol training over China's island of Taiwan.File photo:China Military

 Will the war break out soon across the Taiwan Straits amid rising tensions between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan island? Xu Li-nong, a 103-year-old retired general of the Taiwan army, told the Global Times on Tuesday that Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen's intention to deter the Chinese mainland by confirming US troops' presence in the island won't work, suggesting that the mainland doesn't need to take it seriously but should adhere to its policy on Taiwan to further influence the people on the island.

Once serving as the general of the army of Taiwan military forces, Xu has devoted himself to exchange activities across the Straits after retiring in 1993. In the same year, Xu withdrew from the Kuomintang (KMT) in protest to the secessionist former leader of the island and the KMT Lee Teng-hui (1923-2020).

CNN reported that Tsai confirmed the presence of US troops in Taiwan on October 27. Tsai said she believes "if Taiwan came under attack from the Chinese mainland, the US and other regional democracies would come to its aid." 

As to the commitment the US has made to Taiwan, Xu said it means selling more sophisticated weapons to resist attacks that might be launched by the mainland to reunify the island militarily, since the US has never promised it will send troops to guard Taiwan.

Taiwan media reported the latest poll shows that very few respondents believe the DPP is prepared for war. Xu told the Global Times that Taiwan's soldiers know the huge gap in military power between the two sides. That means the secessionist authority has no chance to survive a massive military operation from the mainland. 

"They know it's impossible to win and do not want to die in vain. Young people do not think a war will break out, so they believe that the mainland will not launch a war with Taiwan with protection from the US." But if the DPP continues to be manipulated by the US, the possibility of a war cannot be ruled out. 

The US needs to calculate the chances of victory if it wants to get involved in the war, said Xu. Even if it is the world's leading military power, it might lose because the mainland will use "asymmetric warfare" around Taiwan and in surrounding regions to prepare for striking foreign forces that try to intervene in its reunification operations. 

Taiwan cannot bear the consequences of a war with the mainland, and a war will be a misfortune for all Chinese people, which will affect the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, Xu stressed.