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Hours after U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi left Taipei after her controversial trip to the island, two Chinese drones breached Taiwan’s airspace for the first time. Two People’s Liberation Army (PLA) drones were spotted inside the airspace of Kinmen, an outlying Taiwanese island.
Taiwan’s Kinmen Defense Command announced two unidentified aircraft were spotted flying over Kinmen and Beiding islands Wednesday night at an altitude of about 2,000 meters. An analysis by the military determined they were unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), said Taiwan News, quoting an official statement.
No Chinese military aircraft have conducted a flyover at Kinmen (alternatively known as Quemoy) since the 1950s. The unprecedented act has added to the fears that China might seize an outlying island to punish Taiwan for hosting Pelosi.
Though Kinmen is closer to the mainland, just 3.2 kilometers off the coast of China, it is administered by the self-ruled island of Taiwan. Many analysts believe outlying islands like Matsu, Penghu, Wuqiu and Kinmen could be the first targets of China, despite how provocative the move would be.
Major General Chang Zone-Sung of Kinmen Defense Command told Reuters that there were two drones, and they flew together into Kinmen’s airspace twice at about 9 p.m. and again at 10 p.m. Chang said he believes the drones were dispatched to gather intelligence on Taiwan’s defenses on its outer islands.
The Kinmen Defense Command, in a statement Thursday, said it responded in accordance with standard operating procedures and fired flares to warn the drones to leave Taiwan’s airspace.
This comes as China has kickstarted massive drill air and naval joint drills encircling Taiwan in its biggest ever wargames since the 1995 Cross-Strait crisis. The drill, happening across the median line that divides the Taiwan Strait from the mainland, covers the sensitive eastern coast of Taiwan. It will also encircle the island from six directions. According to China’s state-backed media Global Times, the PLA’s operations could form a complete blockade around Taiwan island, which means to “block the enemy’s retreat and then beat him.”
“The exercises are unprecedented as the PLA conventional missiles are expected to fly over the island of Taiwan for the first time, the PLA forces will enter area within 12 nautical miles of the island and that the so-called median line will cease to exist,” Global Times reported, quoting experts.
China has also ramped up its military presence by sending 27 warplanes into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ). Of these, 22 breached the median line Wednesday. Taiwan said it responded by scrambling combat patrol aircraft, issuing radio warnings and deploying air defense missile systems.
Photo: AFP / JOHANNES EISELE
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