Ministry of National Defense: "Taiwan independence" is the main culprit undermining peace in the Taiwan Strait.

On the afternoon of April 17th, Colonel Zhang Xiaogang, the spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, made a statement regarding recent military-related issues. Reporter: According to reports, the Taiwan authorities have released a report hyping up the "threat from the mainland," claiming that in the first quarter of this year, mainland aircraft circumvented Taiwan over 420 times and joint air and naval equipment conducted 10 readiness patrols. What is your comment on this? Zhang Xiaogang: Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory. The People's Liberation Army conducting training activities around the Taiwan Island is to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity, which is entirely legitimate and justified. The Democratic Progressive Party authorities distort and exaggerate PLA actions, peddle war anxiety, intimidate the people on the island, and create cross-strait confrontation, all of which is clearly a political manipulation with ulterior motives. "Taiwan independence" is the chief culprit in undermining peace in the Taiwan Strait. We hope that our compatriots in Taiwan can clearly see the extreme danger and harm of "Taiwan independence" separatism, join us in firmly combating the "Taiwan independence" separatist forces, take practical actions to safeguard their own security and well-being, promote peaceful development of cross-strait relations, and protect the common home of the Chinese nation.