A Taiwanese military outpost on the islet of Shihyu is seen past anti-landing spikes on the coast of Lieyu in the Quemoy archipelago. Photo: AFP
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https://scmp.com/news/china/military/article/3190054/everything-under-control-taiwan-military-confirms-mainland Military
‘Everything under control’: Taiwan military confirms mainland civilian drone took photo, video of soldiers
- Picture and five-second video were taken over a sentry post on Erdan, just 4km from Xiamen, defence command official says
- It has prompted a flood of nationalism on mainland Chinese social media as tensions soar across the strait
The photo that was taken by a civilian drone from mainland China on August 16, according to Quemoy’s defence command. Photo: Handout
Taiwan’s military has confirmed that a close-up photo and video showing soldiers at a Quemoy sentry post are authentic after they were widely circulated on mainland Chinese social media.
But it sought to reassure the public that the military was in control of the situation and could promptly deal with any emergency, amid growing concerns over a potential attack from Beijing.
The picture and video were taken by a civilian drone from mainland China on August 16 at Erdan, an islet in the Quemoy archipelago, its defence command said on Wednesday.
The photo shows two soldiers in camouflage gear looking skywards, one of them bespectacled and carrying a rifle, the other holding a camera with a zoom lens. They are standing by the door to the sentry post, with part of its interior also visible.
A five-second video shows two other soldiers throwing rocks at the drone and a third aiming a gun at it.
Taiwan-controlled Quemoy, also known as Kinmen, is close to mainland China.
At a time of soaring tensions across the Taiwan Strait, the photo and video have prompted a flood of nationalism on mainland social media, with some suggesting it shows the People’s Liberation Army could get any details it needed about Taiwan’s military, or that it could attack the island any time it wanted to.
The defence command in Quemoy confirmed that the civilian drone had flown over Erdan – just 4km (2.5 miles) from the mainland city of Xiamen.
“We immediately blew the siren and radioed to warn it off, and the drone swiftly turned back to waters on the Chinese side [of the strait],” said a command official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
He said the soldiers had spotted the drone flying towards the islet and that it came within about 1km of the sentry post.
The command official said no warning flares were fired – as has happened during similar fly-bys – as the drone had swiftly turned back to the mainland after the initial warning. He denied local media reports that the drone had been intercepted.
The official also sought to reassure the public that the military was doing its job to safeguard Taiwan and its offshore islands.
“We have everything under control,” he said, noting that the military had many lookout posts on the islands as part of its surveillance and defence network.
He said the photo and video had not revealed any key information and that “all important facilities and military deployments are concealed”.
The defence command continued to keep watch for and drive off any unmanned aerial vehicles from the mainland, he added.
The PLA sent dozens of drones over Quemoy earlier this month after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s brief, unannounced visit to Taiwan.
Beijing sees the island of 23 million as part of China and has never ruled out the use of force to take control of it, and called Pelosi’s trip a provocation and a violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The PLA also held days of live-fire drills around Taiwan that began soon after Pelosi left on August 3 and included sending ballistic missiles across the island.
Most countries, including the US, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state but Western governments oppose any attempts to take the island by force.