CHINA-US: CHINESE OFFICIAL RECOMMENDS CHINESE NAVY RAMS US NAVY VESSELS IN SOUTH CHINA SEA
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The official China Military Online quoted Dai Xu, President of China's Institute of Marine Safety and Cooperation, as saying in a discussion on December 8, during a discussion on the topic 'What Lies ahead for the South China Sea Issue and the Taiwan Question' that, if a US warship illegally enters into Chinese territorial waters again, two Chinese warships should be sent, one to stop it and the other to bump against and sink it, adding, "In China's territorial waters, we won't allow US warships to run amok." Dai Xu said he believes that both the South China Sea issue and the Taiwan question will result in more tension in 2019 and was not very optimistic about the coming year. He said, "Why do we put the battlefield in the South China Sea and Taiwan? If cross-Straits tensions rise, there is no need to think too much. Though the economy is the most important aspect of overall development and we should definitely focus on saving it, once the opportunity for reunification comes, why not take it? Tensions will accelerate reunification and will only be the beginning of Taiwan's war of liberation. Therefore, we do not have much to fear, so let's just wait and be prepared. Once a strategic opportunity emerges, we should be ready to take over Taiwan." Dai Xu held similar views on the South China Sea issue, saying that the "freedom of navigation" advocated by the US is actually a provocation against China and an attack on China's sovereignty. China has never affected the US freedom of navigation. It can sail freely in international waters, but it cannot do so in China's territorial waters.
(Comment: 1964-born Dai Xu is also a Professor at the National Defense University. He is a Senior Colonel in the PLA Air Force.)
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