Taiwan to Shoot Down “Intruding” Chinese Drones

Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) said on Sunday that soldiers will shoot down intruding Chinese drones that fail to heed warnings.

The development comes after several photos and videos surfaced on Chinese social media (Weibo) showing Chinese UAVs allegedly violating Taiwanese airspace. The drone was tasked with taking close-up footage of Taiwanese soldiers.

On August 27, a Chinese drone captured footage of Taiwan’s troops stationed in a lookout post in Kinmen County's Lieyu Township. A day later, Taiwan’s military stated that in accordance with standard operating procedures (SOP), the troops fired warning flares at the drone and maintained surveillance and a high state of alertness. It warned that necessary countermeasures will be taken to "drive away" the drones, such as sounding whistles, broadcasting radio warnings, and firing signal flares, but if the UAV fails to leave, it will be "shot down."

As per Kinmen Defense Command, there have been 23 intrusions by Chinese drones over Kinmen County since U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in early August.

Taipei is reportedly planning to acquire five sets of drone defense systems and 232 jammer guns in 2023.

Defensemirror.com Bureau