A military official stated that on Tuesday, Taiwan's military fired warning shots at a Chinese drone that buzzed an islet that it controls close to the Chinese coast.
After the shots were fired, the drone returned to China, according to the spokeswoman, as reported by Reuters. According to the news agency, this occurrence was the first time warning shots had been fired. Since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to the autonomous island that Beijing claims as its territory earlier this month, tensions in the area have been particularly high.
Pelosi, a Democrat from California, was warned by China several weeks prior to her brief trip, which took place on August 3, that it would violate the "one-China policy," under which the US recognises Beijing as the only legitimate government in China and maintains informal ties with democratic Taiwan.
The threats fueled worries that the United States and China would engage in a military confrontation, making the political visit a major international event. According to the website Flightradar24, about 3 million people were monitoring Pelosi's flight on the day of her arrival to see if she would actually arrive on the island despite Beijing's rhetoric.
The drone reached Erdan islet soon before 6 p.m. local time (1 000 GMT), according to Chang Jung-shun, a spokesman for the Kinmen Defense Command. Earlier, flares had been employed. He claimed that after that, the drone returned to China.
The Taiwanese military referred to the film as "information warfare," accusing China of exaggerating the presence of Chinese personnel on the islands.
Although well-equipped, China's armed forces outweigh Taiwan's. Increasing defence spending is a top objective for Tsai, who has been in charge of a modernization programme.
When questioned earlier on Tuesday about Chinese drone activity, Taiwan's defence minister, Chiu Kuo-cheng, said the military will respond in accordance with the concept of self-defence. However, he was unable to provide specifics on what they would do to resist the incursions.