Deterrent to secessionists and external forces

This is an editorial from China Daily.

The China Coast Guard is continuing routine law enforcement patrols in the waters east of China's Taiwan island. The patrols which commenced on June 1 aim to ensure orderly navigation and to safeguard the lawful rights and interests of China, as well as the lives and property of Chinese fishermen.

The patrols also serve as a strong deterrent against the Taiwan secessionist forces and the external forces they seek to rely on.

In another development, Chinese marine researchers carried out a comprehensive environmental survey in waters east of Taiwan island last month to gather scientific data on the region's ecological conditions and support marine conservation efforts. All this indicates that Beijing has placed the waters concerned under a comprehensive management framework.

These measures are necessary to counter the attempt of Japan and the Philippines to initiate their so-called "maritime delimitation talks" over the waters, where China has an exclusive economic zone and continental shelf according to international law.

Together with previous jurisdictional actions by the Chinese central government concerning China's Taiwan region, such as deciding whether it can participate in international bodies in the capacity of an observer, protecting the interests of overseas Taiwan compatriots, and punishing "Taiwan independence" separatist forces, they collectively establish a comprehensive system for the central government's substantive jurisdiction over Taiwan.

Enhanced jurisdiction over waters east of Taiwan is a timely, forceful deterrent to those harboring a malicious intention to split the Chinese island from the motherland. Lai Ching-te, the secessionist-minded leader of the Democratic Progressive Party authorities on the island, has shamelessly shown support for the unlawful "delimitation initiative" proposed by Tokyo and Manila.

Clearly, Lai and his secessionist followers have no inclination to wake up from the daydream of relying on external support to advance their agenda.

Raymond Greene, director of the so-called "American Institute in Taiwan", attempted to redefine the conditions for maintaining the "status quo" and cross-Strait dialogue in a recent interview, which demonstrates indulgence of the DPP authorities' fallacious "Taiwan independence" narrative.

In fact, even local media in Taiwan were quick to point out that Greene's remarks run counter to US President Donald Trump's position on the Taiwan question. "We're not looking to have somebody say, 'Let's go independent because the United States is backing us'," Trump said in an interview following his state visit to China in May, adding that he is not looking for US soldiers to "travel 9,500 miles to fight a war" over Taiwan.

Greene's remarks, however, reflect the traditional mindset of the China hawks in Washington. This mindset reinforces the Lai authorities' illusions of "seeking independence through military means" and "by relying on the US".

As Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged in a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week, the US side should handle Taiwan-related affairs with the utmost prudence, as the Taiwan question has far-reaching implications and even a slight wrong move could affect the whole situation.