A fighter jet attached to an aviation brigade of the air force under the PLA Southern Theater Command taxies on the runway to get ready for a round-the-clock training exercise on Sept. 8, 2021. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Wang Guoyun)

 

Recent military exercises launched by the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) in the Taiwan Straits aimed at "Taiwan independence" secessionist moves and interference by foreign forces, and they are necessary actions to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity, the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council said on Wednesday.

Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesperson at the office, made the remarks at a regular press conference when being asked about the recent propaganda made by the ruling secessionist Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on the island, which hyped "military threats" from the Chinese mainland and instigating confrontations.

The goal of the PLA drills is to fundamentally safeguard the overall interests of the Chinese nation and the immediate interests of compatriots on both sides of the Straits, Ma said.

The DPP authorities and "Taiwan independence" secessionists misjudged the situation, colluded with foreign forces and kept making provocations in search of "independence," and this is the root that caused the current tensions in the Taiwan Straits, Ma said, noting that "Taiwan independence" will only bring catastrophe to compatriots on the island, and only resolutely stopping such moves can protect their safety and well-being.

More than 150 PLA aircraft have held drills in the Taiwan's self-proclaimed southwest air defense identification zone since October, according to releases by the island's defense authorities.

Taiwan's defense authorities recently said the PLA will have the capability to comprehensively "attack" the island by 2025, and the current situation in the Straits is the most severe one in 40 years.

Ma reiterated that the source of the complications, tensions and oppositions in the cross-Straits relations is the DPP authorities' collusion with foreign forces and the increasing provocations to seek "independence."

In response to Taiwan regional leader Tsai Ing-wen's recent statement, claiming she was willing to talk to the mainland on the condition of reciprocity and no political premises, Ma said that the DPP is claiming to be open to talks, but seeking "independence" and colluding with foreign forces even more at the same time.

This despicable, double-faced move is deception to not only compatriots on the island, but also the international community, Ma said.

Ma also slammed Tsai's "Double Ten" speech delivered on Sunday. Tsai for the first time claimed that the island of Taiwan and the Chinese mainland are no subordinate to each other.

The fact that both the mainland and Taiwan belong to China has never changed and will never change, and the cross-Straits relations are never relations between countries, Ma said.

Tsai's statement is blatantly selling a "two-state theory," but no matter how she whitewashes the idea of "Taiwan independence," it cannot hide the evil purpose of secession, Ma said.

Leader of Taiwan's judicial authority claimed Taiwan could "establish diplomatic relations" with the US by 2028, and Ma said, "This is daydreaming. He can bring it into coffin but can't make it true."

Global Times