Taipei, Taiwan –
Taiwan’s military fired warning shots at Chinese drones flying over its outposts off the Chinese coast, underscoring rising tensions and the self-governing island’s determination to respond to fresh provocations.
Taiwanese forces said in a statement that troops took action on Tuesday after drones were found flying over the Kinmen island group.
Wednesday’s statement referred to the unmanned aerial vehicles as being for “civilian use” but gave no further details. He said the drones returned to the nearby Chinese city of Xiamen after the shooting. Previously, Taiwan only launched flares as a warning.
The incident comes amid heightened tensions after China fired missiles into the sea and sent planes and ships across the dividing line in the Taiwan Strait earlier this month. It followed angry rhetoric from Beijing over a trip to Taiwan by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the highest-ranking US dignitary to visit the island in 25 years.
China claims Taiwan as its own territory and its recent actions have been seen as a rehearsal for a possible blockade or invasion. The China drills drew strong condemnation from Taiwan’s main ally, the United States, along with other regional democracies such as Australia and Japan. Some of China’s missiles in early August fell in Japan’s nearby exclusive economic zone.
Taiwan maintains control over a variety of islands in the Kinmen and Matsu groups in the Taiwan Strait, a relic of Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalists’ effort to maintain a foothold on the mainland after being pushed out by Mao Zedong’s communists in the midst of civil war in 1949.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said China’s actions had failed to intimidate the island’s 23 million people, saying they had only strengthened support for the military and the status quo of de facto independence.
Officials said anti-drone defenses were being strengthened, part of a 12.9% increase in the Defense Ministry’s annual budget next year. The government plans to spend an additional NT$47.5 billion (US$1.6 billion), for a total of NTD 415.1 billion (US$13.8 billion) for the year.
The US is also reportedly preparing to approve a $1.1 billion defense package for Taiwan that would include anti-ship and air-to-air missiles to be used to repel a potential Chinese invasion attempt.
After the Chinese drills, the US sailed two warships through the Taiwan Strait, which China has sought to designate as its sovereign waters. Foreign delegations from the US, Japan and European nations have continued to arrive to provide diplomatic and economic support to Taipei.
Arizona Governor Doug Ducey is currently visiting Taiwan to discuss the production of semiconductors, critical chips that are used in everyday electronics and have become a battlefield in the US’s technological competition. and Chinese.
Ducey is trying to attract suppliers for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp.’s (TSMC) new $12 billion plant being built in his state.
Last week, the governor of Indiana visited Taiwan on a similar mission.
Taiwan produces more than half of the world’s supply of chips for high-end processors. China’s missile launches during its exercises disrupted sea and air traffic, and highlighted the possibility of chip exports being disrupted.