China’s Ministry of National Defense explained yesterday that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) drills around Taiwan were not a repetition of previous drills but aimed to intensify pressure against “Taiwan independence.” Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said that the drills came in response to a “provocative speech” by Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te on Oct. 10. Wu warned that every provocation by what he called “Taiwan independence” forces will be met with a further step by the PLA until the Taiwan question is completely resolved.
Wu criticized figures like Lai for “forgetting their roots and deliberately severing historical ties across the Taiwan Strait,” inciting hostility and confrontation, and attempting to confuse and alter the understanding that both sides of the Strait belong to one China.
PLA Eastern Theater Command spokesman Senior Captain Li Xi reported that the drills were successfully completed yesterday. “The troops of the theater will always stay on high alert, keep strengthening combat readiness with arduous training, and resolutely foil the ‘Taiwan Independence’ separatist attempts,” Captain Li said.
China employed a record 125 aircraft, as well as its Liaoning aircraft carrier and ships, in large-scale military exercises surrounding Taiwan and its outlying islands on Oct. 14, simulating sealing off key ports in a move that underscores the tense situation in the Taiwan Strait, officials said, reported AP.
