Taiwan shot down a drone off the Chinese coast

Taiwan’s military has for the first time shot down an unidentified civilian drone that entered its airspace near the Chinese coast. The drone was flying near an island held by Taiwan on Thursday.

Earlier on Tuesday, Taiwan’s military warned by shooting down a Chinese drone in the Taiwan Strait.

Tensions are running high in Beijing-Taipei following the visit of US officials to Taiwan early last month and China’s subsequent unprecedented military drills in the Taiwan Strait.

Taiwan’s government has repeatedly accused China of violating its airspace and acting provocatively in the past month. They say Chinese warplanes and drones regularly enter the Taiwan Strait within the 12 nautical miles they claim.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen had already warned against this provocative behavior of China.

Last Tuesday, he ordered the army to “take strong countermeasures” against China’s provocative behavior. Soon after, the shooting down of the drone took place.

China considers Taiwan a breakaway part of itself, which will one day be reunified by force.

On the other hand, Taiwan, which declared its independence, said that it was never under the rule of the ‘People’s Republic of China’. So China’s claim is baseless.

Just after noon (04:00 GMT), the Kinman Islands Defense Command said the downed drone was located on Lion Island on Thursday.
enters the airspace.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense released this statement. It also said that Lion Island troops tried to warn it first. But it didn’t work. So it was shot. Its ruins fell into the sea.

Taiwan’s military first shot down a Chinese drone last Tuesday.

The Kinman Islands, controlled by Taiwan, are the closest to mainland China. The difference between the two lands is only a few hundred feet.