Taiwan reports Chinese military drone near remote island airport
Causing flight delays

WORLD  04 July 2024 - 00:15

A Chinese military drone was spotted near a remote Taiwan island airport, causing flight delays, according to Taiwan's military and local media.

The drone was detected around 5 nautical miles (5.7 miles/9.3 kilometers) from Matsu’s Nangan Airport on July 2, and hovered in the area for approximately 20 minutes, Caliber.Az reports per foreign sources.

Beijing claims Taiwan as its own territory and has not ruled out the use of force to assert control over the self-governed island. Taiwan regularly faces military pressure from Chinese warplanes and vessels, along with incursions from civilian and unidentified drones that conduct surveillance and harass troops.

The Matsu Defence Command confirmed the presence of an unspecified "Chinese military drone" on Tuesday morning. Matsu is located about 200 kilometers (124 miles) northwest of Taipei but is much closer to mainland China.

The command noted that the drone's flight path was close to the take-off and landing routes of civilian aircraft, prompting the Nangan Airport Tower to take necessary measures to ensure aviation safety.

In April, Taiwan’s military heightened alert on Erdan island, part of the Kinmen archipelago near China's mainland, following provocations by Chinese civilian drones. In 2022, Taiwanese soldiers shot down an unidentified civilian drone on Kinmen after a visit to Taipei by then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

These drone incursions are part of what experts call “grey zone” tactics—actions that are aggressive but fall short of outright war—an approach that has increased as tensions between Taipei and Beijing have escalated.

Caliber.Az