Beijing, Apr 1 (UNI) The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) began a multi-service military exercise around Taiwan on Tuesday to practice blocking key areas and sea lanes, Shi Yi, a spokesman for the PLA Eastern Theater Command, said.

"Starting from April 1, the PLA Eastern Theater Command has dispatched ground forces, navy, air, missile forces and other forces to close in on Taiwan from different directions," Shi Yi said in a statement posted on the Eastern Theater Command's official WeChat account.

The drills will be mainly focused on naval and air patrols, seizing comprehensive superiority, striking sea and land targets, blocking key areas and sea lanes to test the command’s operation capabilities.

"This is a strong warning and powerful deterrence against 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces, a legitimate and necessary action to safeguard China's state sovereignty and national unity," Shi said.

Separately, the China Coast Guard said its vessels conducted patrols and exercises in waters around Taiwan on Tuesday.

Taiwan has been governed independently of mainland China since 1949. Beijing views the island as its province, while Taiwan, a territory with its own elected government, maintains that it is an autonomous country, although it has stopped short of declaring independence. Beijing opposes any official contacts by foreign states with Taipei and considers Chinese sovereignty over the island indisputable.

The drills are "a necessary step to protect national sovereignty and territorial integrity," while Beijing will never allow anyone to separate Taiwan from China, Zhu Fenglian, a spokeswoman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of China's State Council, said, as cited by China Central Television (CCTV).

Taiwan's independence means war, and the desire for Taiwan's independence pushes the island's residents to the brink of military conflict, the spokeswoman said. She added that Beijing's measures were aimed at separatist forces, not the island's population.

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