ISTANBUL: China Friday reiterated to punish those seeking independence in Taiwan as it moves to close its two-day large-scale military exercises around the island nation. 'Seeking 'Taiwan independence' is playing with fire,' said Hua Chunying, spokeswoman for China's Foreign Ministry. 'Those who play with fire will perish by it,' Hua added. Code-named Joint Sword-2024A, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) launched mass military exercises Thursday triggering calls for 'restraint' from Taipei which saw the transition to a new administration earlier this week when William Lai Cheng-te was inaugurated as president. Lai visited Taiwanese troops Thursday at a northern military base after China began the drills around the island nation, home to around 24 million people. He vowed to defend Taiwan but Beijing warned those seeking independence from China of seeing themselves being 'crushed.' Taipei urged Beijing to "exercise self-restraint" and avoid "destabilizing" the regional peace and stability. China's army, navy, air force, and rocket force as well as China Coast Guard participated in the drills as they sailed and flew around Taiwan. Taiwan's Defense Ministry said it detected 49 Chinese military planes and 19 Chinese vessels around the island nation on Thursday. About 82 of the Chinese military planes flew across the median line in the Taiwan Strait and entered the air defense identification zone (ADIZ) during the two-day military operations. Beijing neither recognizes the median line nor the ADIZ. The latest two-day military operations around Taiwan were the largest since August 2022 when then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi paid an unannounced trip to the island nation. Source: Anadolu Agency
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