Taiwan shoots down a suspected Chinese drone for the first time near Kinmen

Taiwan has shot down this Thursday for the first time a drone allegedly controlled by China that has entered the airspace over the waters of Shiyu islet, near Kinmen, after the Taiwanese government has promised to tighten measures to curb the increase in incursions by the Asian giant.

After the UAV ignored warnings, Taiwanese troops fired and managed to shoot it down, the Kinmen Army Defense Command (KDC) said in a statement carried by the Taiwan News portal Taiwan News.

This comes after Taiwan’s armed forces opened fire this week on both Tuesday and Wednesday on civilian drones allegedly controlled from China, shortly after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing Wen called for “forceful” measures against such incursions.

“I have ordered the Ministry of National Defense to take forceful and necessary measures (…) to defend the safety of the airspace,” Tsai said, during a speech in which she warned that Taiwan will not stand idly by.

Faced with the recent developments, the spokesman for China’s Foreign Affairs portfolio, Zhao Lijian, has responded that Taiwan is a province of the Asian giant, so it does not have a Ministry of Defense. “The act of the Taiwanese authorities to increase tensions means nothing,” he explained at a press conference.

Tensions in the area have escalated since U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in early August. Beijing responded with its biggest military maneuvers ever, to make it clear that it is still very much aware of its sovereignty claims over the island.