TAIPEI: A Chinese language reconnaissance drone briefly flew over the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands on the prime finish of the South China Sea on Saturday (Jan 17), in what Taiwan’s defence ministry referred to as a “provocative and irresponsible” transfer.
Democratically ruled Taiwan, which China claims as its personal territory, reviews Chinese language army exercise round it on an virtually every day foundation, together with drones although they very hardly ever enter Taiwanese airspace.
Taiwan’s defence ministry mentioned the Chinese language reconnaissance drone was detected round daybreak on Saturday approaching the Pratas Islands and flew in its airspace for eight minutes at an altitude exterior the vary of anti-aircraft weapons.
“After our facet broadcast warnings on worldwide channels, it departed at 0548,” it mentioned in a press release.
“Such extremely provocative and irresponsible actions by the Individuals’s Liberation Military severely undermine regional peace and stability, violated worldwide authorized norms, and can inevitably be condemned,” it added.
Taiwan’s armed forces will proceed to keep up strict vigilance and monitoring, and can reply in accordance with the routine fight readiness guidelines, the ministry mentioned.
A spokesperson for China’s Southern Theatre Command mentioned that drones had carried out “regular flight coaching” in the airspace, in a press release on its official WeChat account.
China additionally views the Pratas as its personal territory.
In 2022, Taiwan’s army for the primary time shot down an unidentified civilian drone that entered its airspace close to an islet off the Chinese language coast managed by Taiwan.
Mendacity roughly between southern Taiwan and Hong Kong, the Pratas are seen by some safety consultants as susceptible to Chinese language assault attributable to their distance – greater than 400km – from mainland Taiwan.
The Pratas, an atoll which can also be a Taiwanese nationwide park, are solely frivolously defended by Taiwan’s army, however lie at a extremely strategic location on the prime finish of the disputed South China Sea.
