Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

Some US politicians further provoked China on the Taiwan question, during the time when the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) was conducting combat readiness patrol and military exercises around the island of Taiwan from April 8 to 10. 

US House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Michael McCaul said on Saturday that the US would help provide Taiwan with armed forces training and expedite weapons deliveries. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham also declared on Sunday that he is "open" to sending US troops to Taiwan to defend the island.

Do these US lawmakers think that they can intimidate China by saying that? They probably don't know that the Chinese People's Volunteer Army directly confronted the US military during the Korean War.

Graham declared that he would "fight for" the island because it's "a democracy." He tries to portray himself as a "hero" in the Taiwan Straits, where there is no war, but it turns out that he is a cowardly hypocrite in the Ukraine crisis. For such US politicians like him, the more they clamor, the more they look like jumping clowns.

The PLA is 100 percent prepared for any foreign interference in the Taiwan question, whether it is military intervention, economic sanctions or attempt at political isolation by the US. The Chinese mainland will have a response plan and will not back down. Therefore, the calls of these lawmakers are nothing but a wishful and cheap promise, Lü Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.

These politicians hope to get media attention, which essentially aims to earn political capital for themselves. They are tireless in pursuing their personal interests, which is a tragedy of American politics. In the eyes of these politicians, only their personal interests matter. They want to establish their political presence through this kind of clamoring, and then the interest groups behind them will benefit.

Last year, Graham openly asked the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities to purchase 24 Boeing 787 airplanes manufactured in his constituency, the state of South Carolina, with a total value of $8 billion, during his visit to Taiwan. This is a blatant act of extortion.

During the three-day military exercises, no country came out to vehemently voice opposition because everyone understands that the Taiwan question is China's internal affair. China's legitimate countermeasures serve as a stern warning against the collusion between secessionist forces seeking "Taiwan independence" and external forces as well as against their provocative activities. 

Yet, some US lawmakers are still backing the "Taiwan independence" secessionist forces at this juncture. Even American netizens are aware of the malicious intentions of politicians like Graham. One Twitter user commented, "They are always willing to support sending someone else. Their goal: deplete US resources and send US military everywhere, leaving US vulnerable."

The PLA's exercises will eventually compress "Taiwan independence" secessionist forces into a hopeless black hole. The current "main task" of the DPP authorities is to keep the secessionist regime in Taiwan alive. They are buying more US weapons and seeking "international support" to keep its survival, while becoming increasingly afraid that any misstep could trigger a war in the Taiwan Straits.

"As for the real defense of Taiwan in the future, I think the US' strategy is clear. It is actually what they call the 'porcupine strategy,' where the US provides weapons and corresponding military equipment to make it difficult for the Chinese mainland to act. In addition, the US will bargain with the Chinese mainland using Taiwan's last remaining value," said Lü. As Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin pointed out, why would the US politicians bother to travel afar if not for the huge profits?

More and more countries are waking up to the true purpose of the US' stoking of tensions in the Taiwan Straits. French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview on Sunday, "The question asked of us Europeans is the following: is it in our interest for there to be acceleration on the topic of Taiwan? No. The worst thing would be to think that we Europeans must become followers on this topic and adapt to the American rhythm."

The US provoked the Ukraine-Russia conflict and then wants to leave all the consequences for Europe to bear. Europeans have seen through the US' lies. Macron's remarks clearly tell Washington that Europeans are not fools who can be easily exploited.

An increasing number of countries are having a deeper understanding and judgment of the nature of the US' consistent policy of creating crises in regional security issues. Washington's attempt to showcase its so-called leadership position through such behavior is not only a tragedy, but also despicable.