Beijing. October 13. INTERFAX - The exercises of the Chinese armed forces in the Taiwan Strait area are aimed at protecting peace and stability in the area, Ma Xiaoguang, head of the Taiwan Affairs Office at the State Council of the People's Republic of China, told reporters.
"These are absolutely fair actions that are aimed at protecting sovereignty and territorial integrity against the separatist actions of forces seeking Taiwan's independence," the official said at a briefing.
He added that "the purpose of the Taiwanese authorities inflating the myth of the so-called "military threat" from the mainland is to completely turn the situation upside down, and these are false accusations."
"If the authorities of the Democratic Progressive Party of Taiwan (DPP, ruling party - IF) stubbornly continue to go the wrong way (...), it will only plunge Taiwan into a more dangerous situation," warned Ma Xiaoguang.
He noted that the reason for the current tension around Taiwan was the "collusion" of the DPP with a foreign force and "provocations" related to the idea of Taiwan's independence.
Earlier, the head of the Taiwanese administration, Tsai Ing-wen, said that Taiwan is interested in reducing the level of tension in relations on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, but will not follow the path that Beijing has outlined for the island.
"We hope to ease tensions in cross-strait relations, we will not act rashly, but there should be absolutely no illusions that the Taiwanese people will succumb to pressure," she said, speaking in Taipei.
"We will continue to strengthen our national defense and demonstrate our determination to defend ourselves to ensure that no one can force Taiwan to follow the path that Beijing has paved for us," she stressed.
The head of Taiwan's defense Ministry, Qiu Guozheng, also said earlier that the current situation in the Taiwan Strait area is the most tense in the last 40 years.
According to him, Beijing already has the capabilities to resolve the Taiwan issue with the help of military force and will be fully ready for this by 2025.
As reported by the Taiwanese media, earlier flights of 56 aircraft of the PRC Air Force were recorded in the Taiwan air defense zone. In just a few days, 148 military aircraft of mainland China were recorded flying through the zone.
