The Ministry of National Defense is to be applauded after personnel at its Kinmen Defense Command fired shots to chase away Chinese commercial drones, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers said yesterday, adding that the ministry must establish standard operation procedures for such events.
Previously, troops had only fired warning flares in response to such incursions and refrained from more aggressive countermeasures, such as shooting the drones down, to avoid further escalating cross-strait tensions.
The Kinmen command said in a statement on Tuesday evening that soldiers stationed on three islets — Dadan (大膽), Erdan (二膽) and Shiyu (獅嶼) — each detected a Chinese commercial drone flying in restricted areas near their respective outposts at about 4:23pm.
Photo: CNA
In accordance with its four-step rules of engagement for drone encounters — “firing warning flares, reporting the incursion, expelling the drone and ultimately shooting it down” — the command said that soldiers first fired warning flares near the drones.
As the drones continued to hover, shots with live ammunition were fired to expel them, the command said, adding that they flew toward Xiamen on the Chinese coast about 5km away.
A similar incident occurred at about 5:59pm on Erdan Islet, the command said, adding that a single drone flew back to Xiamen a minute after troops fired shots at it.
The command provided no details on how many shots were fired or the kind of weapons used.
The information on Taiwanese troops firing shots at Chinese drones was released hours after President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) early on Tuesday said that she had instructed the armed forces to take “strong countermeasures” when necessary to protect Taiwan’s airspace.
Taiwan’s military has come under heavy criticism for its apparent lack of a serious response to Chinese drone incursions in the airspace of Taiwan’s outlying islands.
Videos have been posted online of military facilities in Kinmen County that were apparently recorded by commercial drones.
DPP Legislator Hsu Chih-chieh (許智傑) yesterday said that incursions into Taiwan’s airspace by Chinese drones cannot be tolerated and thanked the ministry.
Taiwan’s military should respond appropriately, guided by the principle of self-defense, Hsu said.
The ministry should establish a response procedure for soldiers in such situations, he said.
DPP Legislator Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) said that a response procedure would allow the defense forces in Kinmen to call in equipment that could hamper or drive off drones instead of just broadcasting warning messages.
“The ministry should adopt a tougher stance on handling Chinese drone incursions,” Chen said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) said that it was past due for the military to provide a “suitable reaction.”
The Vital Area Regulations (要塞堡壘地帶法) restrict access to military-controlled zones and their air space are no-fly zones, Chiang said.
Any aerial vehicle from any nation should be shot at or shot down if they ignore warnings, he said.
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