The maneuvers take place in the Taiwan Strait, north, south, and east of Taiwan, as well as in areas around the islands of Kinmen, Matsu, Wuqiu, and Dongyin, and involve the Army, Navy, Air Force and missile forces of the PLA Eastern Theater Command.

“These exercises, Codenamed, Joint Sword-2024A, serve as a strong punishment for the secessionist actions of those who advocate Taiwan’s independence and as a stern warning against interference and provocation by external forces,” said the Command spokesman Li Xi, as quoted by the Xinhua agency.

The exercises focus on sea-air combat readiness, achieving battlefield control, and conducting joint precision strikes on key targets, and include sea and air patrols in the vicinity of areas around Taiwan as well as carrying joint operations inside and outside the island chain to test the real combat capabilities of the Command’s forces, the spokesman explained.

Earlier this week, Xinhua deplored the “inflammatory rhetoric” in the inauguration speech given by Taiwan’s new president, Lai Ching-te.

“Lai not only defended the two-state theory, Xinhua agency underlined but even went so far as to label the Chinese mainland as a foreign country, in addition to maliciously stoking fears of an alleged military threat coming from it.

The alleged independence of Taiwan is a countercurrent in history which constitutes the most dangerous alteration of the status quo between both sides of the Strait and the greatest disturbance of regional peace,” the commentary emphasized, noting that this search will only lead to a dead end.

The commentary also stressed that complete national reunification cannot be contained by any force, and suggested that Taiwanese citizens unite with their mainland compatriots, resolutely safeguard the common homeland and put cross-Strait relations back on the right track.

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