On Monday,??????? ???????? ???? the People's Liberation Army started to carry out an inter-service exercise surrounding Taiwan Island, according to a military spokesman.
Senior Captain Li Xi, spokesman for the PLA Eastern Theater Command, said in a statement early on Monday that his command organized its ground force, naval, air force and rocket force units to conduct the "Joint Sword-2024B" exercise in the Taiwan Strait and the north, south and east of Taiwan Island.
He said the drills involve vessels and aircrafts closing in on the island from multiple directions and mock assaults by joint forces.
The operation is intended to hone troops' capabilities in joint sea-air patrol, the blockade and control of key ports and areas, strikes on naval and land targets, and the seizure of battlefield superiority, so as to test the joint combat capabilities of the forces, Li said.
The drills are a powerful deterrent to the separatist activities in Taiwan, and are legitimate and necessary actions to safeguard national sovereignty and national unity, the spokesman said.
The statement was published on the WeChat account of Li's command at 5:02 am, which means the joint exercise must have begun earlier than that.
Li did not give more details about the operation while his command published a map to show areas involved in the event.
Senior Colonel Fu Zhengnan, a researcher at the PLA Academy of Military Science, said Taiwan leader Lai Ching-te's recent speech was "extremely deceptive and dangerous" and inherited the insidious pursuit of "Taiwan independence" of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party.
"It was Lai that uttered provocative words in the first place, and then came the necessary punitive measures by the PLA. The 'Joint Sword-2024B' is a comprehensive representation of China's will and determination of punishing Taiwan separatists and seeking for reunification," Fu said.
The researcher noted that the exercise features more attention to real combat scenarios and that troops can shift from training to actual combat at any time.
He said the operation would act like a sword and a hammer above the Lai administration as a warning that "there will be no peace and development if you make separatist moves".
Each time separatists make provocations, the PLA will conduct tighter a blockade of Taiwan Island, he said.