Taiwanese Troops Shot Down A Drone Over An Island Outpost

The Kinmen Defense Command said the drone entered restricted airspace over Shiyu Island shortly after noon. Flares and warning shots were fired, but the drone maintained its position and was shot down, it said in a statement. It described the drone as “civil use” but did not say whether it had been recovered or what weapon was used to bring it down. The day before, Taiwan said it had warned of drones hovering over three of the islands it claims off the coast of the Chinese port city of Xiamen. China claims Taiwan as its own territory, to be annexed by force if necessary. The sides split after a civil war in 1949 and have no formal relations, with China even cutting off informal contacts after the election of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in 2016. Tensions between the sides have been particularly high since China fired missiles into the Taiwan Strait and mobilized ships and warplanes to the area following US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last month. Despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, the US is its strongest political supporter and source of defensive weapons. Tsai’s government has pushed for a boost in anti-drone defenses as part of a 12.9 percent increase in the Defense Ministry’s annual budget next year. This would boost defense spending by an additional NTD 47.5 billion ($1.6 billion), for a total of NTD 415.1 billion ($13.8 billion). The US is also reportedly preparing to approve a $1.1 billion defense package for Taiwan that will include anti-ship and air-to-air missiles to be used to repel a possible Chinese invasion attempt. The US described Chinese drills last month as a massive overreaction and responded by passing two guided-missile cruisers through the Taiwan Strait, which China has claimed as its sovereign waters.

title: “Taiwanese Troops Shot Down A Drone Over An Island Outpost Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-10-30” author: “Michael Benson”

The Kinmen Defense Command said the drone entered restricted airspace over Shiyu Island shortly after noon. Flares and warning shots were fired, but the drone maintained its position and was shot down, it said in a statement. It described the drone as “civil use” but did not say whether it had been recovered or what weapon was used to bring it down. The day before, Taiwan said it had warned of drones hovering over three of the islands it claims off the coast of the Chinese port city of Xiamen. China claims Taiwan as its own territory, to be annexed by force if necessary. The sides split after a civil war in 1949 and have no formal relations, with China even cutting off informal contacts after the election of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in 2016. Tensions between the sides have been particularly high since China fired missiles into the Taiwan Strait and mobilized ships and warplanes to the area following US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last month. Despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, the US is its strongest political supporter and source of defensive weapons. Tsai’s government has pushed for a boost in anti-drone defenses as part of a 12.9 percent increase in the Defense Ministry’s annual budget next year. This would boost defense spending by an additional NTD 47.5 billion ($1.6 billion), for a total of NTD 415.1 billion ($13.8 billion). The US is also reportedly preparing to approve a $1.1 billion defense package for Taiwan that will include anti-ship and air-to-air missiles to be used to repel a possible Chinese invasion attempt. The US described Chinese drills last month as a massive overreaction and responded by passing two guided-missile cruisers through the Taiwan Strait, which China has claimed as its sovereign waters.