Taiwan confirms downing Chinese civilian drone near Kinmen Islands

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
1 Sep 2022 14:33
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For the first time ever, the Taiwanese military downs a drone it claimed entered a "restricted zone" near the Taiwanese-controlled Kinmen Islands.

Kinmen Islands (AFP)

The Taiwanese Defense Ministry said on Thursday that the island's military had shot down a civilian drone intended for aerial photography in the area of the Taiwanese-controlled Kinmen Islands located off the southeastern coast of mainland China, claiming the drone had entered a "restricted zone".

In a statement, the Ministry indicated that "on September 1, at 12:30 p.m. local time [04:30 GMT], an unidentified civil drone for aerial photography was detected after it had entered the airspace over the closed water area of the Shi Islet."

"The stationed troops followed procedures to warn off the drone but to no avail. The drone was shot down in defensive fire," the statement read.

This is the first time Taiwanese forces have downed a drone, and it comes at a time when tensions between Taiwan and China are at their highest in decades following a provocative visit to Taipei last month by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Chiu Chui-cheng, deputy head of Taiwan's China-policy making Mainland Affairs Council, told reporters in Taipei that Taiwan had the legal authority to take "necessary defense measures," claiming that Chinese aircraft were not allowed into Kinmen's air space.

He said that those measures include forcing aircraft to leave or land.

Earlier on Thursday, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen's office cited her in a statement as saying that China was using drones and other "grey zone" tactics to try to intimidate Taiwan.

Speaking to the Taiwanese military, Tsai "ordered the Ministry of National Defense to take necessary and strong countermeasures in a timely manner to defend national security," according to the statement.

Taiwan vows counter-attack if China enters 'its territory'

It is noteworthy that on Tuesday, the Taiwanese military fired on a Chinese People's Liberation Army drone for the first time after it had approached the Kinmen Islands, saying that the defense forces would continue to stay on high alert and step up surveillance.

Kinmen Islands is a group of islands located roughly 6.2 miles east of the city of Xiamen in China's Fujian Province administered by Taiwan.

According to the South China Morning Post newspaper, no Chinese military aircraft, including drones, have flown over the islands since the 1950s.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen warned this week that the military might be forced to resort to live fire if the drones ignored warnings to leave.

On his part, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian considered Monday that drones were not "anything worth making a fuss about" as the drones were "flying around Chinese territory."