This Thursday the Taiwanese army shot down «an unidentified civilian drone» that entered restricted air space area above the island of Shiyu Island off the coast of continental China, as reported by Taiwanese army.
This is the first time the military in Taiwan have shot down a drone, and this happened in a time when tension between Taipei and Beijing is at an all-time high.
According to the Ministry of Defence of Taiwan, a small civilian drone entered restricted air space above Shiyu Island, which is located between continental China and Taiwan.
«The troops deployed in the area followed routine procedure. Attempts were made to use warnings to make the drone leave, but this did not help. Then the decision was made to shoot it down,» explained the minister.
Currently it is unknown who piloted the most recently intercepted drone or any other ones previously observed in the area.
Throughout August Chinese military aircraft had breached Taiwan’s air defence identification zone more than 440 times, according to data from Taiwan’s Ministry of Defence provided to AFP.
China considers Taiwan a part of its territory and always sharply reacts to any indication Taiwan could be considered an independent country.
Beijing’s reaction was especially sharp to the recent visit of speaker of US Senate Chamber of Representatives Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan. In response, China organised the biggest military drills in the vicinity of the island since the 90s.
Chinese military aircraft have entered Taiwan’s air defence identification zone 1 068 times this year so far (969 times in 2021).
Taiwan and continental China are governed separately. This started in 1949, when the Nationalist Government of the Republic of China was overthrown in a civil war and China’s continental part became the People’s Republic of China, which considers Taiwan part of its territory.