US arms dealers' cash cow. Illustration: Liu Rui/GT

Rupert Hammond-Chambers, President of the "US-Taiwan Business Council," recently told Japanese media that around 25 US defense contractors plan to send representatives to Taiwan island in early May to discuss joint production of drones and ammunition. For Taiwan, this is releasing an "ominous wind" that Taiwan compatriots should beware of.

If the trip takes place, it will be another action by the US that violates the one-China principle and steps on China's red line. The US arms dealers come to Taiwan island in group with their undoubtedly bloodthirsty instincts that can make them smell money. It is self-evident what they will bring to and take from the island. The people on both sides of the Taiwan Straits, especially Taiwan compatriots, need to stay alert to them like guarding against wolves. They also need to keep vigilant about any new moves by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities, the "thief in the family," to "sell out Taiwan for the pro-independence push." It is necessary to keep a sharp eye on every interaction between Washington and the DPP authorities.

As we all know, the arms industry is a highly profitable business. The US military-industrial complex holds an absolute advantageous position in the world and wields significant political power in Washington. In recent years, wherever they are active, there is bloodshed and turmoil. US arms dealers are, undoubtedly, the biggest beneficiaries of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and now they also see an opportunity in the Taiwan Straits. Judging from the signs of this group rushing to Taiwan, Washington is giving them the political green light and providing various conveniences.

What is even more alarming is that the signs of the US colluding with Taiwan secessionists to carry out the so-called "porcupine strategy" are becoming increasingly evident. And the process is undoubtedly accelerating with US arms dealers' pushing. 

If US military-industrial enterprises really establish production lines within the island of Taiwan, it will be more heinous than selling weapons to the island. Let's say it up front: In that case, in addition to the mainland's necessary countermeasures, these production points will automatically become targets of strikes from the Chinese People's Liberation Army, adding one more live target. The impulses and actions of external interference in the Taiwan Straits are a major driving force for the PLA to strengthen its capabilities continuously.

The "porcupine strategy" is a joke on the military level, but on the political level, it is a cold and highly immoral strategy of bringing harm and destruction to Taiwan. It is clear to anyone that even if every corner of Taiwan is equipped with American weapons or, as a former US official touted, there is "a Taiwan with 1 million AK47-armed citizens," it is impossible to change the military balance between the two sides of the Taiwan Straits, let alone stop the trend of reunification across the Straits.

The porcupine's spines will only cause Taiwan to bleed and increase the potential intensity of military conflicts in the Taiwan Straits. All of this will be transformed into real money flowing into the pockets of American arms dealers and become political chips for Washington politicians. For Taiwan, this is a real and painful experience of being used by others for their own benefit. The US takes advantage of the DPP authorities' mentality of "relying on the US to seek independence," treating Taiwan as an ATM and exploiting its political and military value.

The DPP authorities have already "paid tribute to" Washington with a lot of money, but the US is clearly not satisfied. Now, it is certain that the DPP will have to spend more. What Taiwan really lacks are eggs, water, and electricity, not bullets or missiles; what it needs is peace and development, not war and crisis. The more the DPP authorities are "willing" to spend in pleasing Washington, the more they will fall short in terms of people's livelihoods and the greater the risk they will bring to the Taiwan Straits. This has become a vicious cycle that Taiwan urgently needs to get rid of.

On Wednesday, "legislator" Chen Wan-hui of Taiwan's People First Party questioned and criticized the DPP authorities for the possible visit by American arms dealers, saying they shouldn't pursue war and put the Taiwan residents in a very precarious situation any more. More and more peace advocates on the island are speaking out against the DPP authorities' moves of colluding with external forces and pushing the situation in the Taiwan Straits toward danger and conflict, and more people have faced up to the reality. This "US arms dealer gang" will never be welcomed in Taiwan.