CHINA began military exercises around the breakaway island of Taiwan today, with the People’s Liberation Army saying that the aim was partly to punish separatists for seeking formal independence from the mainland.

Beijing’s action followed the inauguration on Monday of new Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, who called on the Chinese government to cease what he described as military intimidation and pledged to “neither yield to nor provoke” the Communist Party leadership.

Taiwan responded to today’s exercises by scrambling warplanes and putting missile, naval and land units on alert.

The island has been governed separately from the rest of China since 1949, when the formerly ruling nationalists retreated there after being defeated in a civil war with the communists.

Beijing, which has never relinquished its claim to the territory, sends navy ships and warplanes into areas around the island almost every day in a bid to wear down Taiwan’s defences and discourage steps towards independence.

The island’s Defence Ministry accused China today of an “irrational provocation” that had jeopardised regional peace and stability, saying that Taiwan will seek no conflicts but “will not shy away from one.”

The nationalist Kuomintang party, which forms the main opposition and is generally seen as closer to China, also condemned Beijing’s actions.

The People’s Liberation Army’s eastern theatre command said the exercises were meant to test the naval and aerial capabilities of military units, as well as their joint strike abilities to hit targets and win control of the battlefield.

“This is also a powerful punishment for the separatist forces seeking ‘independence’ and a serious warning to external forces for interference and provocation,” a statement said.

Speaking in Australia, US Marine Corps Lieutenant General Stephen Sklenka, the deputy commander of the Pentagon’s Indo-Pacific Command, called on Asia-Pacific nations to condemn the Chinese military exercises.