TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan's Presidential Office on Monday (Jan. 9) condemned China's joint combat exercises conducted on Sunday (Jan. 8) and vowed to defend the country's sovereignty.

Presidential Office Spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) released a statement on Sunday expressing "strong condemnation" against an announcement by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) that it would conduct military exercises around the Taiwan Strait. Chang said the PLA has continued to carry out military activities around Taiwan under the pretense of "all kinds of groundless accusations."

On behalf of the Presidential Office, Chang emphasized that "peace and stability are the shared responsibility of both sides of the strait and the common expectation of the international community." Chang said that Taiwan has a very clear position of "neither escalating conflicts nor provoking disputes."

The spokesperson vowed that Taiwan will "firmly defend its sovereignty and national security, and stand firm on the defensive lines of democracy and freedom."

Regarding the situation in the Taiwan Strait, Chang said that the armed forces have closely monitored the situation and "responded calmly." He closed by calling on Taiwanese to be "rest assured" of their safety.

The PLA's Eastern Theater Command announced in a press release on Sunday that it had conducted patrol and combat exercises in "the air and waters near Taiwan." Senior Colonel Shi Yi (施毅), spokesman of the theater command, said PLA forces practiced "strikes on land targets and amphibious assaults" during the maneuvers.

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense on Monday announced that 57 PLA military aircraft and four People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) vessels had been detected around Taiwan between 6 a.m. on Sunday (Jan. 8) and 6 a.m. on Monday (Jan.9). Of the 57 PLA aircraft, 28 had either crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait or had intruded into the southern sector of the air defense identification zone.