Taiwan’s Countermeasures Toward Beijing’s Drone Incursion

After weeks of CCP’s military drills and harassment, Taiwan fired warning shots on CCP’s civilian drones that entered the airspace over the restricted waters of the island nation. The Taiwan military fired at the drones after the Taiwanese president ordered them to take countermeasures against provocations. During the weekend, Taiwanese soldiers had warned the drones using signal flares, but the drones started detecting frequently.

For the first time, Taiwan’s soldiers fired warning shots at Chinese drones following weeks of repeated incursions. Taiwan reported and complained about the intruding drones over its military outposts since Communist China escalated its military drills over Taiwan due to U.S. Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit.

Ever since CCP started drills around the Island, Taiwan said it had responded calmly, and the two sides have fired no shots. But Taiwan is upset with Chinese drones flying very close to its territory. On Tuesday, Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen told troops, “The more the enemy provokes, the more calm we must be. We will not provoke disputes and exercise self-restraint, but it does not mean we will not counter.”

The Taiwan defense ministry plans to deploy an indigenously-developed system for countering uncrewed aircraft systems next year. And for that, Taiwan’s military approved $146 million in investment in anti-drone defense systems for its bases.