China: War games not aimed at specific target

China's defense ministry on Wednesday dismissed reports that military drills off its southeast coast were directed at any targets.

"It is routine arrangement to execute military drills in the southeast of China according to annual training plans, and these drills are not aimed at any specific target," the Chinese defense ministry said in a statement.

The ministry added that the war games, which included drills conducted by its army, navy and air force, were "designed to test and improve troops' capabilities of dealing with security threats."

"Relevant parties shouldn't over-interpret such activities," the defense ministry's press office said.

'One China' under threat?

However, the drills come as Taiwan is set to inaugurate President-elect Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on Friday.

The DPP is expected to break with the former ruling Chinese Nationalist Party's (KMT) "one China" principle that recognizes a single China between Taiwan and the mainland People's Republic of China, according to local media reports.

The principle, also known as the "1992 consensus," is cited as a key factor to thawing relations between Beijing and Taipei.

According to the Taiwan Thinktank survey, 54.3 percent of respondents believed the president-elect should not acknowledge the "one China" principles in her inauguration speech, reported the Taipei Times.

The Chinese civil war of the 20th century effectively resulted in two de facto states, namely the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China based in Taiwan.