Incident after provocations: Taiwan shoots down Chinese drone for the first time – just off the mainland

Created: 09/01/2022, 16:54

By: Christiane Kuehl

In the background are the skyscrapers of mainland China: near the Taiwanese island of Shihyu, the military shot down a Chinese drone for the first time.

© Sam Yeh/afp

Taiwan has shot down a Chinese flying object for the first time in the immediate vicinity of its own mini-island.

The conflict continues to escalate.

Taipei/Munich – For weeks, China has been invading the airspace around Taiwan more and more often: with fighter jets, helicopters – and most recently also with drones.

On Thursday, Taiwanese soldiers shot down such a drone for the first time near a mini-island just off mainland China.

According to the Ministry of Defence, the "civilian drone of unknown origin" had penetrated the "exclusion zone" of the island of Shihyu, which belongs to the Taiwanese archipelago of Kinmen and is only around three kilometers off the coast.

The soldiers stationed on Shihyu had previously tried in vain to drive the drone out of the zone, the military said.

Warnings were also given before the launch.

Taiwan is alarmed by the increasing number of provocations by China.

Only on Wednesday did the military in Taipei threaten unspecified “counterattacks” if Chinese warplanes and warships entered its territory.

Taiwan: Military outposts just offshore

Taiwan has a number of small islands that lie in close proximity to mainland China.

Residents of islands like Kinmen have been able to watch closely as skyscrapers rise into the sky in towns along the coast – and read propaganda posters displaying giant signs promoting reunification.

These islands were shelled by China's artillery in the 1950s and have been armed to the teeth ever since.

Over the past two weeks, Taiwan has reported a string of incidents involving small drones near these military outposts.

Soldiers fired warning shots in the direction of a drone for the first time on Tuesday.

Taiwan apparently assumes that these drones are being used for targeted pinpricks or observation missions.

Of course, civilian drones can also take pictures of the ground - and pass them on to China's military.

China with targeted provocations near Taiwan

Also on Thursday, Taiwan's military spotted 23 Chinese fighter jets on its side of the centerline between the island and the mainland.

That, too, is a deliberate provocation that has become more and more frequent since the visit of US top politician Nancy Pelosi to Taipei.

There were twelve Chinese fighter jets on Monday and nine last Tuesday.

In addition, dozens of planes and several warships have been in other waters near Taiwan for the past week.

Pelosi's visit sparked serious tensions between China, Taiwan and the United States in early August.

Beijing sees the democratically governed Taiwan as a renegade province and repeatedly threatens to take the island by force.

It does not allow Taipei any official international relations.

And so, immediately after Pelosi's departure, the People's Liberation Army began large-scale maneuvers around the island republic.

The maneuvers ended after a few days, the pinpricks remained.

In August, Taiwan's military spotted 446 Chinese fighter jets in its own air defense zone (ADIZ) - more than at any time in one month.

The previous record was 196 overflights in October 2021. Taiwan only started to publish data on violations of its ADIZ in September 2020.

Such a zone is significantly larger than the actual airspace.

Thus, Taiwan's ADIZ extends to the mainland.

But even if the airspace itself may not be affected, these ADIZ violations are a threat.

USA: China wants to change the status quo on the Taiwan Strait

From the US perspective, China's military maneuvers around Taiwan represent an attempt by China to permanently change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait in favor of the People's Republic.

By crossing the now most respected center line with fighter jets, warships or drones, China is trying to "establish a kind of new normal for their activities and behavior," US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Wednesday.

"We have made it very clear publicly that changing the status quo is unacceptable - and that we will not recognize that."

Similarly, in August, Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said, "We must join forces with like-minded partners to ensure that the median line remains in place to ensure peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait." For Taiwan, the invisible median line in the sea is an important one Buffer.

The Taiwan Strait is about 180 kilometers wide on average.

But at its narrowest point, the median line is only about 40 kilometers from Taiwan's waters. 

China and Taiwan: That's what the conflict is about

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Taiwan therefore takes the threat from China seriously.

The government recently decided to increase the defense budget in the coming year by almost 14 percent to the equivalent of 19 billion euros.

At the end of August, the USA sent the two cruisers USS Antietam and USS Chancellorsville through the Taiwan Strait.

Taiwan: Westerners are queuing despite threats from Beijing

However, Beijing's threats and military actions have not succeeded in isolating Taiwan.

Despite the difficult security situation, more politicians from other countries - such as the USA, Japan or Lithuania - are currently traveling to Taiwan than ever before.

On Thursday, Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-Wen once again welcomed a guest from the USA with Arizona's Governor Doug Ducey.

Tsai announced that he intends to further expand cooperation with the USA.

Isolation looks different.