The Kinmen Defense Command yesterday said it would drive Chinese drones out of Kinmen County, and shoot them down if warnings are ignored.
The command made the announcement after video footage taken from a drone that circled above troops stationed in the county’s Lieyu Township (烈嶼) circulated on Chinese microblogging site Sina Weibo (微博) on Saturday.
Troops had noticed the drone over the township on Saturday, and had determined it to be a civilian drone, the command said in a news release.
Photo: Still image taken from a video on Sina Weibo
In accordance with standard procedure, the troops fired a warning flare at the drone and went on high alert, it said.
The military aims to avoid escalating such situations, but would take countermeasures to prevent incursions into the country’s airspace by drones and other airborne objects, the command said, adding that China has been making such incursions with increasing regularity over the past few weeks.
“These repeated provocations are a threat to Taiwan’s national defense and aviation safety, and we will take necessary measures to stop them,” the command said.
On Aug. 16, a separate video circulated on Sina Weibo showing Taiwanese troops throwing stones at a Chinese drone that entered airspace above Erdan Islet (二膽).
The incident was criticized by the Ministry of National Defense as a Chinese attempt at cognitive warfare and sparked public debate about how the military should respond to “gray-zone” tactics — defined as coercive actions carried out by seemingly non-state or nonmilitary actors.
The ministry on Wednesday last week said it had already drafted plans for a drone defense system, which it expects to deploy next year.
GEOSAT Aerospace & Technology Inc (經緯航太科技) chief executive officer Lo Cheng-fang (羅正方) yesterday said that the army should not hesitate to use counter-drone weapons if any are spotted in Taiwan’s territorial airspace.
When faced by China’s provocative gray-zone tactics, the worst thing Taiwan can do is nothing, because it would simply encourage Beijing to be more aggressive, he said.
Lu Li-shih (呂禮詩), a former navy lieutenant commander, said that the army should try to set up a virtual perimeter known as a geofence around a no-fly zone between the offshore counties and China to stop drones from entering.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said that the ministry could work with domestic drone manufacturers to devise drone-defense solutions.
Speaking about an incident yesterday in which two Chinese fishers washed up alive in the county, Wang said that authorities should provide all necessary assistance in such cases, but exercise caution and thoroughly investigate whether other motives are at play.
BACK TO NORMAL? The move would be part of a gradual easing of curbs monitored by the CECC, which would retain the quarantine mandate if case numbers rise again The Cabinet yesterday approved a plan to next month reopen Taiwan’s borders to all visitors and lift the quarantine mandate for arrivals, provided the nation’s COVID-19 situation does not escalate. The changes are likely to take effect on Oct. 13 as part of a phased easing of border controls that is to start on Thursday next week when a negative polymerase chain reaction test result would no longer be needed, Cabinet spokesman Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) told a news conference. Arriving travelers would instead be given four rapid antigen home test kits, Lo said. The three-day quarantine requirement followed by four days of mandatory
The Chinese navy has the ability to blockade Taiwan, but doing so could prompt a coordinated response by the international community to intervene to resolve the crisis for Taiwan, US Vice Admiral Karl Thomas said. “Clearly if they do something that’s non-kinetic, which, you know, a blockade is less kinetic ... then that allows the international community to weigh in and to work together on how we’re going to solve that challenge,” the commander of the US Navy’s 7th Fleet told the Wall Street Journal in an interview published on Monday. While he could not predict whether China would launch a full-scale
‘NO SURRENDER’: A blockade or outlying island seizure would be an act of war, and China’s drills last month have emboldened Taipei in its response plans, an official said The Republic of China Army Command Headquarters has agreed to purchase 5,000 Kestrel close-range anti-armor missiles worth NT$400 million (US$12.63 million) from the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology, according to the military’s latest arms purchase bid notice. The army asked the institute to complete the order within 13 months, a military source said on condition of anonymity. Kestrel missiles are designed to penetrate armored vehicles and are used in anti-surface warfare, as they feature optical sights and night vision, and can be operated in all weather conditions. The missile has a 400m range, or a 150m range when used for breaching brick
‘ABSURD’: UN Resolution 2758 expelled the Chiang Kai-Shek government without mentioning Taipei, something the Chinese minister did not acknowledge, Taipei said Taiwan yesterday criticized Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) for “intentionally misinterpreting” a 1971 UN resolution to misrepresent Taiwan’s status to the global community. In his address on Saturday to the UN General Assembly, Wang cited Resolution 2758 as a basis for Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is part of China. He said that Beijing considers Taiwan an “inseparable part of China’s territory since ancient times.” “Only when China is completely reunified can there be enduring peace across the Taiwan Strait... Any move to obstruct China’s reunification is bound to be crushed by the wheels of history,” Wang said. General Assembly Resolution 2758
RSS