Taiwanese forces bring down drone over tiny island near Chinese mainland

The defence ministry in Taipei said the unidentified drone had been shot down over Shiyu after it failed to heed warnings to leave the restricted area

Diplomatic observers said the downed unmanned aerial vehicle was civilian, something that reduced the risk of a military escalation

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Taiwan controls the Quemoy archipelago, which lies a few miles off the coast of mainland China. Photo: Reuters

Published: 2:21pm, 1 Sep 2022Updated: 8:40pm, 1 Sep 2022

Taiwan’s military has shot down an unidentified drone over a tiny island off the coast of the Chinese mainland.

The civilian-operated drone flew into restricted waters near Shiyu at noon on Thursday, and troops based on the island shot it down after it failed to heed warnings, according to the island’s defence ministry.

It was the first time Taiwanese forces have shot down a drone over territory controlled by Taipei.

On Wednesday, the defence ministry said it had opened fire on three civilian drones flying over three different locations above the Quemoy archipelago, also known as Kinmen, which includes Shiyu.

Major General Chang Jung-shun, a spokesman for the Kinmen Defence Command, said the drone flew over from the mainland city of Xiamen, which is just 4km (2.5 miles) away.

“As soon as we spotted the unidentified drone, we followed the standard operation procedures by warning it off before shooting it down after it failed to leave the area soonest,” Chang said.

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