Straits drill to deter separatists

Military prowess can promote unification

Wang Xiaoxuan, a Beijing-based expert on military affairs

Military exercises are held primarily to enhance a military's comprehensive combat capability. Apart from that, the live-fire drill in the Taiwan Straits on Wednesday is also aimed at preventing Taiwan "independence" seekers from causing more harm to national unity by crossing the red line.

The drill has to reach a certain scale to demonstrate Beijing's resolve to deter the island's separatists and safeguard national interests. But the fact that the military drill was announced by the Fujian Maritime Safety Administration rather than some higher level authority－since the waters are under the jurisdiction of Fujian province－indicate the mainland is treating the situation rationally, unlike the cross-Straits crisis in 1996. Although the separatists have been consistently making provocative moves, the mainland is still waiting for more rational voices on the island to rise in support of the 1992 Consensus.

It has always been a priority for Beijing to maintain peaceful and prosperous cross-Straits ties. On the one hand, Washington has never ceased to trigger tensions across the Straits to fulfill its own strategic interests, especially with Beijing making great progress on the economic and military fronts.

China follows the military principle of proactive defense, and its navy's mission is to safeguard the country's territorial integrity and sovereignty, as well as to fulfill its international obligations. And to safeguard its national interests, China is developing its navy.

This should be a stern warning to the island's separatists that they should desist from creating more trouble, and not forget that the US will abandon them lock, stock and barrel once tensions spiral out of control and they no longer serve its interests.