The Chinese mainland's civil aviation authority is expected to officially open a new air route, titled M503, along the southeastern coast on March 5.

Taiwan's transportation official Tseng Dar-jen on Thursday warned that the island may send military jets to drive off any plane that enters Taiwan's "flight information region" without notifying the Taiwanese authorities.

Driving off civil passenger flights with military jets sounds like a scene out of a time when the two sides across the Taiwan Straits were enemies. It is ridiculous that a high-rank official said this at a time of peace.

The M503 flight route is created to relieve the pressure of growing traffic near Shanghai and the Pearl River Delta area. It is approved by international civil aviation authorities and keeps a safe distance from Taiwan. The mainland has previously discussed this matter with Taiwan. It is improper for Taiwan to reject this route while throwing out tough warnings.

Imagine if the mainland also threatened to take action on the grounds that Taiwan authorities acted against flights from the mainland. After several rounds of exchanges, the hard-won progress in the cross-Straits relations in the past six years would fall back overnight.

The Taiwan government led by Ma Ying-jeou seems to have lost its way after Kuomintang's landslide failure in the local elections late last year. If the Taiwan authorities try to curry favor from the constituents by insensible tough talks, it will hurt itself further.

Kuomintang's best accomplishment in its rule in Taiwan over the past six years lies in the improvement of cross-Straits relations.

Some students in Taiwan protested against a service trade pact with the mainland last year. But it is hard to say how much the students' anger was against the pact itself, or out of a feeling of loss. Many observers believe that no matter who becomes Taiwan's new leader, it will be unlikely for Taiwan to go backward in terms of its relations with the mainland.

If Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) takes power, it would not dare to cancel civil flights across the Straits, stop mainland tourists from visiting the island, or force Taiwan companies to withdraw from the mainland.

The Kuomintang did not lose the local elections for further opening up Taiwan. Instead, the ruling party failed in running local affairs. If Ma's government chose to pour dirty water on the best part of its accomplishments, the result of the 2016 Taiwan election is already set.

We hope the Taiwan transportation official's remarks were a slip of the tongue. We have confidence in the soberness of Taiwan society. We hope there will be no more whimsical moves in Taiwan that do not fit the current situation.