A Chinese mainland spokesperson said on Wednesday that the drills conducted by the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) in the Taiwan Strait are to safeguard the national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, made the remarks while answering a question about concerns that whether the real combat-oriented drills by the PLA in the Taiwan Strait may accidentally lead to a conflict.
"This depends on how far the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authority and 'Taiwan independence' forces will go with their provocative acts," the spokesperson said.
Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, Zhu said, adding that "our will and resolve to safeguard the national sovereignty and territorial integrity is firm and has never changed."
"To effectively respond to the interference by external forces and the quite few 'Taiwan independence' secessionists and their secession activities, we will not commit to renounce the use of force and reserve the option of taking all necessary measures," Zhu said.
"This will not change at any time," Zhu said.
The DPP authority and "Taiwan independence" forces have for some time made various attempts to split the country and undermine the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations, Zhu said, adding their acts seriously damaged the interests of compatriots on both sides of the Strait and the fundamental interests of the Chinese nation, as well as the peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
Zhu said the PLA conducting drills in the Strait is to firmly safeguard the national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and sternly warn the external forces to stop their interference, and the "Taiwan independence" secessionists to stop provocation.
