Risk of a military clash rises in Taiwan Strait after island fires at mainland Chinese drone, experts say
- Taiwan’s defence ministry says it will exercise the right to self-defence and counter-attack if mainland drones do not leave its territory when warned
- Beijing will employ a ‘stronger response’ if Taiwan continues to fire shots, former PLA equipment specialist says
Taiwan’s defence ministry said on Wednesday it would exercise the right to self-defence and counter-attack if mainland Chinese drones posing a threat to security did not leave Taiwan’s territory after being warned.
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A day earlier, the ministry said three civilian drones flew over three different locations in the airspace above Taiwan’s Quemoy archipelago, also called Kinmen. All three elicited warning shots.
One again flew over Erdan, an offshore islet 4km (2.5 miles) from the mainland city of Xiamen in Fujian province. Taiwan fired live ammunition to drive away that drone, which retreated towards Xiamen.
Fu Qianshao, a retired People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force equipment specialist, said the firing of a shot was viewed as a military act.
“It is a military action if you shoot directly at the drone, regardless of whether it hits the drone or not. Tensions are escalated,” he said.
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Japan’s defence ministry said a Chinese TB-001 attack drone flew between the islands of Okinawa and Miyako and into the Pacific Ocean off Taiwan’s eastern coast on Tuesday. Japan had scrambled a fighter jet to respond.
Mainland China and Taiwan split in 1949 at the end of a civil war when the Kuomintang was defeated by Communist Party forces and fled to Taipei.
Beijing sees the island as part of China and has never ruled out the use of force to take control of it. Most countries, including the US, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state. Washington, however, opposes any attempt to take the island by force.
Mainland China has stepped up drills against Taiwan following the trip to the island by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Washington said the visit by Pelosi – the most senior US politician to travel to the island in 25 years – did not signal a change to its Taiwan policies, but Beijing took it as support for the pro-independence camp.
“The mainland side will continue to take corresponding measures,” Fu said.
“If there are more visits [by foreign politicians] to Taiwan, and a closer connection between Taiwan and the US, mainland drones will be deployed more. The consequences are now becoming clear that Taiwan fired the first shot.”
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The mainland side would take a “stronger response” if Taiwan continued to fire shots, he said.
Yue Gang, a retired PLA colonel, said the firing was a warning but tensions could still be contained.
“The rifles and anti-aircraft machine guns they fired were unable to shoot down drones. They were warning shots, and they were a warning signal against mainland drones,” he said. “The Taiwanese army kept the situation at a controllable level.”
Beijing would continue to focus on drone reconnaissance flights, which would weaken the confidence of the Taiwanese army, he said.
On Monday, Taiwan’s army said its four-step protocol for drone encounters involved “firing warning flares, reporting the incursion, expelling the drone and ultimately shooting it down”.
The foreign ministry in Beijing had dismissed Taiwan’s complaints about the drones as nothing “to make a fuss about”.
