Taiwan downs unidentified drone

TAIPEI: Taiwan’s military has shot down for the first time an unidentified civilian drone that entered its airspace near an islet off the Chinese coast, after the government earlier vowed tough measures to deal with an increase in such intrusions.

Taiwan’s government has said it will not provoke or escalate tensions but has been particularly angered recently by repeated cases of Chinese drones buzzing islands controlled by Taiwan close to China’s coast.

The defence command for Kinmen, a group of Taiwancontrolled islands opposite China’s Xiamen and Quanzhou cities, said in a statement released by Taiwan’s defence ministry yesterday that the drone entered restricted air space over Lion Islet just after noon (local time).

Taiwan had earlier said yesterday it would exercise its right to selfdefence and counterattack if Chinese armed forces entered its territory, as Beijing increased military activities near the democratically governed island.

Beijing, which claims Taiwan as its own despite the objection of the Taipei government, has held exercises around the island this month in reaction to a visit to Taipei by US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Taiwan has complained of Chinese drones repeatedly flying close to its islands.

Taiwan fired warning shots at a

Chinese drone for the first time on Tuesday (local time) shortly after President Tsai Ingwen ordered the military to take ‘‘strong countermeasures’’ against ‘‘Chinese provocations’’.

Taiwan’s army said its forces again fired warning shots and flares on Wednesday (local time) at drones buzzing islets in the Kinmen chain.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian, in a press briefing, reiterated Beijing’s position.

‘‘Firstly I need to tell you, Taiwan is a province of China — it has no socalled defence ministry. The Taiwan authorities are playing up their nervousness — this is meaningless,’’ he said. — Reuters