A US surveillance drone passed over waters off eastern Taiwan on Tuesday, the second day of the Han Kuang series of military exercises, according to a report by the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) yesterday.
The Ministry of National Defense confirmed that it had spotted “an unknown aircraft,” but said that it remained outside of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone.
“We kept close tabs on the aircraft, but the Ministry of National Defense will not comment further on the issue,” ministry spokesman Major General David Lo (羅紹和) said.
The Liberty Times reported that a US Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the most advanced long-range UAV used by the US military, was seen flying southward over the waters off east Taiwan.
The drone was noticed as the air force was conducting a drill that included the C-130HE electronic warfare aircraft, the report said.
Upon seeing the foreign aircraft, the military immediately dispatched two F-16 fighter jets to investigate and identified it as a US Air Force Global Hawk, the Liberty Times added.
The US aircraft then turned around and flew toward Okinawa, the report said.
The incident came during the second stage of the “Han Kuang 31” series of military exercises that began on Monday and finish tomorrow, simulating an attack by China.
They include live-fire drills and see the army, navy and air force test their joint operations in the event of war. They follow computer-aided war games held in May.
“We don’t comment on specific military activities, but as a matter of principle, the United States reserves the right to operate in international airspace,” American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) spokesman Joseph Bookbinder said when asked for comment.
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