[Photo/China Daily]

The United States again sent a warship through the Taiwan Straits on Wednesday. The motivation and implication seemingly explicit, since the move coincided with the release of China's white paper on its national defense policy.

It seems Washington was raising a finger to what the white paper said about China's determination to defend its unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

But the US should not carelessly dismiss this as empty bluster. If it thinks that Beijing will not deliver on this commitment, it is in for a rude awakening.

On the question of both Taiwan and Hong Kong, Beijing will not hesitate to take whatever action it thinks necessary to defend the nation's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

China's announcement of sanctions on those US companies which participate in arms sales to its Taiwan, as they did in the US' latest $2.2 billion arms sales to the island should be a clear signal that China will take whatever action it deems appropriate to counteract whatever the US does to violate its sovereignty.

The US has turned a blind eye to the vandalizing of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's Legislative Council by the rioters and the attack on the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong and the defacing of the national emblem, instead it has blithely talked about freedom of speech and the right to peaceful assembly.

But standing facts on their heads and interfering in Hong Kong affairs is part and parcel of US efforts to keep Beijing busy putting out one fire after another.

US senator Marco Rubio said something to the effect that the Chinese mainland has used organized criminal gangs to attack protesters in Hong Kong and accused the mainland of failing to deliver on its commitments. But there is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact and it does not take a Sherlock Holmes to conclude that the CIA has been – to whatever degree removed — behind the more extreme acts. Which should be no surprise given its long history of meddling elsewhere.

Although the true cause may be hidden, the effect is visible to all. That the mainland has so far remained restrained despite all the provocations does not mean that it has no capability to bring the situation in Hong Kong under control.

And the same is true with Taiwan. The mainland always hopes that the island will be reunited with its motherland in a peaceful manner, but if it is necessary the People's Liberation Army will not hesitate to take it back by the use of force.

It is a miscalculation of the US to believe that Taiwan and Hong Kong are pieces to be played in its game against China.