HONG KONG, Dec 29, (AP): China’s military on Monday dispatched air, navy and rocket troops to conduct joint military drills around the island of Taiwan, a move Beijing called a “stern warning” against separatist and “external interference” forces. Taiwan said it was placing its forces on alert and called the Chinese government “the biggest destroyer of peace.” The drills came after Beijing expressed anger at U.S. arms sales to the territory and a statement by Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, saying its military could get involved if China were to take action against Taiwan, the self-governing island that the world’s second-biggest economy says must come under its rule. But the Chinese military did not mention the United States and Japan in its statement on Monday morning.

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said in a post on X that rapid response exercises were underway, with forces on high alert to defend the island. In a separate statement, it said it had deployed appropriate forces in response, conducting combat readiness drills. “The Chinese Communist Party’s targeted military exercises further confirm its nature as an aggressor and the biggest destroyer of peace,” the ministry said. Senior Col. Shi Yi, spokesperson of China’s People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command, said the drills would be conducted in the Taiwan Strait and areas to the north, southwest, southeast and east of the island. Shi said the activities will focus on sea-air combat readiness patrol, “joint seizure of comprehensive superiority” and blockades on key ports. It was also the first large-scale military drill where the command publicly mentioned one of the goals was “all-dimensional deterrence outside the island chain.” “It is a stern warning against ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces and external interference forces, and it is a legitimate and necessary action to safeguard China’s sovereignty and national unity,” Shi said. China and Taiwan have been governed separately since 1949, when a civil war brought the Communist Party to power in Beijing. Defeated Nationalist Party forces fled to Taiwan.

The island has operated since then with its own government, though the mainland’s government claims it as sovereign territory. The command on Monday deployed destroyers, frigates, fighters, bombers and unmanned aerial vehicles, alongside long-range rockets, to the north and southwest of the Taiwan Strait. It carried out live fire exercises against targets in the waters as well. Drills to test the capabilities of sea-air coordination and precise target hunting were also conducted in the waters and airspace to the east of the strait. It said major military drills were scheduled to happen between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Tuesday, saying it would organize live firing activities then, and its exercises would cover five areas around the island. The command released themed posters about the drills online accompanied by provocative wording. One poster depicted two shields with the Great Wall alongside three military aircraft and two ships. Its social media post said the drills were about the “Shield of Justice, Smashing Illusion,” adding that any foreign interlopers or separatists touching the shields would be eliminated.