A Chinese drone breached Taiwan airspace Tuesday. Taiwan’s military fired several warning shots, and the drone returned to China. The incident is the latest in what Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen called “Chinese provocations,” and marks the first time warning shots were fired in such an incident.
According to Taiwanese defense officials, the drone approached the area of Erdan islet just before 6 p.m. local time. Flares were used first to dissuade the drone before warning shots were fired.
Communist China considers the island of Taiwan a part of its own territory. Democratic Taiwan feels differently and strongly disputes China’s claim of sovereignty.
China started performing military drills around Taiwan after U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) visited. Pelosi was the highest ranking U.S. politician to visit Taiwan in 25 years.
China viewed the visit as a breach of the “one-China policy,” which recognizes Beijing as the sole government of China but allows for unofficial relations with Taiwan.
Also on Tuesday, President Tsai told her naval officers they will not provoke disputes and will exercise self-restraint, but that doesn’t mean the Taiwan military will not counter.
When asked about the Chinese drone activity, Taiwan’s Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said, “Don’t make a fuss when I set off some firecrackers to scare away some sparrows.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
