Spokesperson: PLA military drill around Taiwan legitimate and necessary

A Chinese military spokesperson said on Thursday that the recent military exercise conducted by the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) around the island of Taiwan is entirely legitimate and necessary.

The leader of the Taiwan region, Lai Ching-te, recently made separatist remarks claiming that the two sides across the Taiwan Straits are "not subordinate to each other" and called the mainland a "foreign hostile force." In mid-March, the PLA conducted a military exercise near Taiwan. Some said the exercise was a countermeasure against Lai's separatist rhetoric and recent collusion between Taiwan and the U.S.

When responding to a media query regarding the military drill, Wu Qian, a spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, said naval and air troops of the PLA Eastern Theater Command conducted readiness patrols and joint exercises in areas around Taiwan to test and enhance their war-fighting capabilities.

Wu said it serves as an effective punishment and deterrence against the "Taiwan independence" separatists and a stern warning against external interfering forces, adding that "it is fully legitimate and necessary."

The spokesperson said that the PLA will resolutely implement the Party's overall strategy for resolving the Taiwan question in the new era. 

"We will remain ready and able to fight and win at all times and will take resolute measures to defeat any separatist attempt for 'Taiwan independence,'" Wu said.