Taiwan fires shots at mainland Chinese drone for first time, island’s defence ministry says

Encounter in airspace over Quemoy archipelago just 4km (2.5 miles) off mainland city of Xiamen came soon after warning shots
Action follows Taiwanese leader’s vow that the self-ruling island’s military would act against ‘Chinese provocations’

Taiwan

Kinling Loin Beijing

Published: 5:50am, 31 Aug 2022

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For the first time after weeks of locating mainland Chinese drones flying into its airspace, Taiwan fired shots to drive away a drone, its defence ministry said on Tuesday.

The unprecedented response transpired after a round of warning shots and came soon after the drone re-entered Taiwanese airspace above the Quemoy archipelago.

In total, three “civilian drones” flew over three different locations in the airspace above Taiwan’s Quemoy archipelago, also called Kinmen, according to a statement from the ministry on Tuesday. All three elicited warning shots.

One flew again over Erdan, an offshore islet just 4km (2.5 miles) from the mainland city of Xiamen in Fujian province, 36 minutes after the warning shots, the statement said.

Taiwan’s army then fired shots to drive away the returning drone, which departed the airspace and flew towards Xiamen.

Tuesday’s salvo furnished the latest evidence that simmering tensions across the Taiwan Strait look likely to persist.

And the decision to fire upon the drone came hours after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said the self-ruling island’s military would take “necessary and strong countermeasures” to defend the safety of Taiwan’s airspace against what she termed “Chinese provocations”.

On Monday, Taiwan’s army made public its four-step protocol for responding to drone encounters: “firing warning flares, reporting the incursion, expelling the drone and ultimately shooting it down”.

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Taiwan has repeatedly reported Chinese drones flying around the outlying islands it controls in the strait since Beijing launched military exercises following US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei on August 2.

Beijing condemned the trip as encouraging pro-independence forces on Taiwan, which it regards as a renegade province that it could take by force, if necessary.

Last week Chinese social media was awash with photos and videos of Taiwanese soldiers at an outpost. The imagery appeared to have been taken by drones.

Taiwanese authorities confirmed the footage had been taken by a civilian drone on August 16, and accused Beijing of repeated drone incursions. China’s military offered no comment.

The images have stirred an outpouring of nationalism on mainland websites, with some suggesting the footage showed Beijing could obtain any details about Taiwan’s military it needed or that it could attack the island any time it wanted to.

Tsai earlier described Beijing’s flying of drones into Taiwan’s airspace as military activities in a “grey zone” verging on armed conflict.

Apart from drones, China’s military has sent H-6K bombers and aerial tankers as part of what Beijing called “regular” patrols near Taiwan. In response, the US on Sunday sent warships through the strait.

Most countries, including the US, do not recognise Taiwan as a sovereign state. But many Western governments have expressed opposition to any attempt to take the island by force.