Taiwan fired at civilian drones that appeared to come from China for a second day, underscoring growing pressure on Taipei to push back against Beijing’s efforts to encroach on its territory.
(Bloomberg) — Taiwan fired at civilian drones that appeared to come from China for a second day, underscoring growing pressure on Taipei to push back against Beijing’s efforts to encroach on its territory.
Taiwanese troops fired warning shots and flares Wednesday evening at three civilian drones that neared offshore islands, the Defense Ministry said in a statement, adding that the unmanned aircraft retreated toward the Chinese port city of Xiamen. The incident followed a similar episode Tuesday, when Taiwan shot at three drones that neared Kinmen Island, an outpost of Taipei control just off the Chinese coast.
Taiwan’s military is trying to reaffirm limits on Chinese presence around the island after Nancy Pelosi became the first US House speaker in a quarter century to visit the democratically ruled island. Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in a speech Tuesday urged the military to craft a strong response to China’s pressure campaign without prompting further escalation.
“Drones are part of China’s gray-zone tactics and cognitive warfare against Taiwan,” said Kuo Yu-jen, director of the Institute for National Policy Research in Taipei. “The incursions are an attempt to humiliate Taiwan’s military. Taiwan’s government first responded to it cautiously, and only turned tougher when they became more frequent.”
The People’s Liberation Army held unprecedented exercises for several days around Taiwan after the visit, including firing ballistic missiles over the island. Taipei has reported that an average of more than 10 Chinese warplanes have crossed the US-drafted median line that divides the Taiwan Strait each day since Pelosi arrived, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News.
The drones’ flights over Taiwan’s outlying islands started in late July, although neither side has specified where they are coming from. The Chinese Communist Party’s Global Times newspaper has said “the frequent flights of civilian drones from the mainland expose the Taiwan armed forces’ weak defenses.”
“China meant to test response of Taiwan’s military in offshore islands like Kinmen by sending those drones, and also used these small-scale events to see how Taiwanese society respond to them,” said Crystal Tu, assistant research fellow at Institute for National Defense and Security Research. “They may also try to see whether there are loopholes in the procedure or response that they can further take advantage of.”
Two US Navy guided-missile cruisers sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Sunday, as part of the Biden administration’s effort to demonstrate its commitment to maintaining a military presence in the region. The administration is preparing to sell about $1.1 billion in other missiles and radars to Taiwan, according to a person familiar with the matter, in what would be the largest such transfer in almost two years.
The Taiwanese Defense Ministry told lawmakers that China’s increasing encroachments pose “severe military challenges” to the island, according to a report seen by Bloomberg News. Lin Wen-huang, an operations and planning official at the Ministry, separately told reporters Wednesday that Taiwan would counterattack if Chinese forces entered its territory.
“Our stance is that the closer the incursions are to Taiwan, the stronger our counter measures will be,” Lin said.
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