The US on Monday urged restraint and no unilateral change to the “status quo” across the Taiwan Strait amid China’s “gray zone” harassment of Taiwan, including the use of drones near Kinmen County.
Earlier on Monday, Kinmen Defense Command said that subordinate units detected a civilian drone approaching the islands of Erdan (二膽) and then Menghu (猛虎) at about 9am and 2pm respectively.
The movements came after a Chinese YouTube channel posted drone videos of Taiwan’s military supplies and transportation on Erdan on March 30.
Photo courtesy of Kinmen Defense Command
Often seen as a front line in any potential hostilities between China and Taiwan, the Kinmen islands lie just off the southeastern coast of China, with Erdan and Menghu just 5km to 6km away from the Chinese city of Xiamen.
Asked to comment on China’s “gray zone” tactics against Taiwan, a spokesman for the US Department of State told the Central News Agency that Washington is closely monitoring Beijing’s actions.
“We continue to urge restraint and no unilateral change to the status quo, which has preserved peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and throughout the region for decades,” the spokesman said. “We urge the PRC [People’s Republic of China] to engage in meaningful dialogue with Taiwan to reduce the risk of miscalculation.”
“The United States shares with other countries an abiding interest in peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and in the broader Indo-Pacific region, which impact global security and prosperity,” the spokesman said.
Army Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Chen Chien-yi (陳建義) on Wednesday last week said that Chinese filming of the islands of Dadan and Erdan is part of its “gray zone” tactics against Taiwan, which are aimed at undermining the morale of the Taiwanese military.
The drone flights were not unexpected, and they have happened in the past and will happen again in the future, he said.
Thomas Shattuck, a US academic specializing in cross-strait relations, said at an online seminar late last month that Taiwan, with limited resources, should learn from the Philippines.
The Philippines has had many confrontations with China in the South China Sea, and has tried to counter its intrusions by recording Beijing’s military harassment and publicizing it to try to galvanize public outrage in the international community, he said.
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