[Source: Aljazeera]

China’s military says it carried out military exercises around the self-ruled island of Taiwan that focused on land and sea assaults, the second such drill in less than a month.

The People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theatre Command said in a statement late on Sunday that its forces had organized “joint combat readiness patrols and actual combat drills” in the sea and airspace around Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own.

The aim of the exercises was to test joint combat capabilities and “resolutely counter the provocative actions of external forces and Taiwan independence separatist forces”, Senior Colonel Shi Yi, a spokesperson for the command, said in a brief statement.

Taiwan’s presidential office said China was making “groundless accusations” and strongly condemned the drills, saying the peace and stability of the Taiwan Strait and the region were the common responsibility of both Taiwan and China.