Mainland voices firm opposition to "Taiwan independence"

File photo taken from Xiangshan Mountain shows the Taipei 101 skyscraper in Taipei, southeast China's Taiwan. (Xinhua/Zhu Xiang)

BEIJING, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Exercises by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) have showcased that the mainland's determination to curb "Taiwan independence" and collusion between the island and the United States is not "empty words," a mainland spokesperson said Wednesday.

Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, made the remarks while responding to a media query on mainland military drills and training.

Mainland's military exercises do not target the people in Taiwan, but are a response to Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authority's stepped up provocative actions seeking "Taiwan independence" in collusion with external forces, Ma said.

PLA's real combat-oriented drills across the Taiwan Strait are necessary moves aimed at the current security situation in the Strait and meant to safeguard national sovereignty, Ma said, adding that the military exercises are solemn responses to external interference and attempts seeking "Taiwan independence."

As long as the DPP authority stops seeking secession and returns to the common political foundation of the 1992 Consensus, cross-Strait relations will improve, Ma noted.