The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has started a series of joint “punishment” exercises around Taiwan designed to serve as a “warning” to separatist forces seeking independence of the island.

China announced the drill Thursday saying that the goal was a “strong punishment for the separatist acts of ‘Taiwan independence’ forces,” as well as a “stern warning against the interference and provocation by external forces.”

According to a report by RT, the drills will coordinate the PLA’s army, navy, air force, and rocket force in the Taiwan Strait, taking place in several directions around Taiwan and its outlying islands on Thursday and Friday, military spokesperson Li Xi declared. The exercises will focus on combined sea-air combat-readiness patrol, the capture of battlefield control, and joint precision strikes on key targets, Li stated. The drills will practice closing in on areas around Taiwan, as well as operations inside and outside the island chain to test real combat capabilities, he said.

The rhetoric has intensified with Taiwan’s newly (s)elected president. In a speech on Monday, the new Taiwanese president, Lai Ching-te, urged Beijing to “face the reality of the Republic of China’s existence” and “engage in cooperation with the legal government chosen by Taiwan’s people.” He added that Taipei and Beijing are “not subordinate to each other.”

China has been ramping up the rhetoric surrounding Taiwan lately. It is even making an attempt to sanction United States companies that, through the military-industrial complex, have sold weapons to Taiwan.

China Tries Sanctioning U.S. Companies Over Weapons Sales To Taiwan

Sanctions have proven ineffective for the U.S. at controlling foreign ruling classes. However, China is now taking a page from the U.S. and attempting to freeze the foreign assets of several U.S. military-linked corporations.

Beijing has disagreed with the statements proclaiming them as provocative and separatist. Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, accused Lai of “collusion” and acting as a “pawn” to external forces, promising to “counteract and punish them.