Tension On Dongyin Island, Taiwanese Military Releases Flare To Expel Foreign Spy Drones

JAKARTA - Tensions erupted on Dongyin Island, one of Taiwan's areas adjacent to China. Taiwan's military tries to repel foreign drones by firing flares.

The incident occurred Thursday, July 28, as reported by Channel News Asia. This is also the latest provocation to Taiwan allegedly carried out by China.

So far, China has claimed that Taiwan is part of them. And in the last two years, there has been an increase in China's military maneuvers against Taiwan.

The flare was released as a warning to drones that were "glaring" at the strategically located island with tight security, Taiwan's defense ministry said.

The ministry said the drone twice glanced into the airspace of Dongyin island, part of the Matsu archipelago off the coast of China's Fujian province. The site has been controlled by Taiwan since the end of the Chinese civil war in 1949.

The ministry said it was "not ruling out" that the drone was investigating the island's defenses to see what kind of reaction it had.

Dongyin Command fired flares at drones to warn him, the ministry said, without further identifying him.

A senior official familiar with security planning in the region told Reuters it was a Chinese drone, possibly one of the country's new CSC-005 drones.

Taiwan has not published details of its military presence there. But the Dongyin Area Command has been at the forefront of Taiwan's defense since the 1950s.

It is the northernmost territory held by Taiwan, at the upper end of the Taiwan Strait, a choke point that at least some of China's invading forces must pass.

Military experts believe the Dongyin forces are equipped with Taiwan-made Hsiung Feng II anti-ship missiles as well as Sky Bow II surface-to-air missiles.