China's defense ministry says each "Taiwan independence" provocation to invite countermeasures

BEIJING, May 24 (Xinhua) -- With each provocation of the "Taiwan independence" separatist forces, the countermeasures will advance one step further until China's complete reunification is realized, a defense ministry spokesperson said Friday.

Spokesperson Wu Qian made the remarks in response to a media query related to the ongoing joint drills around Taiwan Island conducted by the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA).

The Chinese PLA Eastern Theater Command organized its troops of army, navy, air force and rocket force to conduct joint military drills surrounding the island of Taiwan in recent days to test the troops' capabilities of joint operations, Wu said.

The military drills aim to crack down on the arrogance of "Taiwan independence" separatist forces and deter the interference and intervention of external forces, and they are completely reasonable, lawful, legitimate and necessary, he said.

As soon as he took office, the new leader of the Taiwan region seriously challenged the one-China principle by touting the "two states theory" and attempting to seek "Taiwan independence" by force and by relying on external forces, Wu said.

He noted that such behavior pushes the Taiwan compatriots toward the danger of war, calling it "an act of playing with fire."

"Taiwan is China's Taiwan, and how to resolve the Taiwan question is a matter for the over 1.4 billion Chinese people," Wu said, stressing that the PLA will defend China's national sovereignty and territorial integrity with concrete actions.