China's military reaffirms sovereignty goals in Taiwan-related actions

BEIJING, Dec. 30 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese defense spokesperson said Thursday that actions of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) in the waters and airspace around the country's island of Taiwan have clear objectives, reaffirming the military's resolve to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Tan Kefei, spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense, made the remarks in response to a question regarding the recent actions of PLA aircraft that have been hyped up by the island's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authority.

Over the past year, the PLA has conducted regular patrols and combat drills in the waters and airspace around the island, Tan said.

The spokesperson noted that the objectives of these actions are very clear: to take decisive countermeasures against the egregious actions of forces within and outside the island to collude and challenge the one-China principle; to resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity; and to concretely safeguard the common welfare of compatriots on both sides of the Strait and maintain peace and stability in the Strait.

He said the root cause for the mounting tension across the Taiwan Strait is the provocations seeking "Taiwan independence" by the DPP authority and separatist forces in the island as well as the attempts from some external forces to contain China, stressing that it is the PLA's unshirkable responsibility to safeguard China's sovereignty and security and deter "Taiwan independence" separatism.