Two fighter jets attached to a naval aviation brigade under the PLA Eastern Theater Command take off simultaneously from a military airfield in East China's Zhejiang Province for a recent flight training exercise. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Liu Yaxun)

 

The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command recently systematically sent troops from multiple military branches into multiple directions and organized consecutive, realistic drills in the Taiwan Straits and its northern and southern ends, the command announced on Thursday.

The drills further tested and improved the troops' joint combat capability, said Senior Colonel Zhang Chunhui, the spokesperson of the PLA Eastern Theater Command.

Recently, "a certain major country" has been continuously making negative moves on the Taiwan question, which has sent seriously wrong signals to "Taiwan independence" forces and severely threatened peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits, Zhang said.

Taiwan is a sacred and inalienable part of Chinese territory, and the patrol and exercise activities by the PLA are necessary operations aimed at the current security situation in the region and safeguarding national sovereignty, the spokesperson stressed.

The troops will always be on high alert, take any necessary measures, resolutely counter any provocative actions that could result in "Taiwan independence" and separate the country, and resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity, Zhang said.

Global Times