China Is Putting Pressure On Taiwan By Increasing Drone Flights Near Islands

China’s drones have been a constant part of its military activity around Taiwan in recent weeks, demonstrating new capabilities and putting increased pressure on the self-ruled island, which Beijing claims as part of its territory. Drone flights, often by small civilian models, over Taiwan’s remote islands are among China’s most visible pressure tactics, and experts and officials worry that such actions risk turning high tensions into outright conflict. China began a series of military exercises around Taiwan after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island on August 3. The drills included live-fire exercises over and around the island and repeated flights by Chinese aircraft across the median line, an unofficial but widely recognized boundary in the Taiwan Strait. The first overflight since the trip by Chinese drones was reported hours after Pelosi left, when Taiwanese troops fired flares at two drones over Kinmen County — a group of Taiwanese islands a few miles off the coast of the Chinese city of Xiamen. Major General Chang Jung-shun of the Taiwanese military’s Kinmen Defense Command told local media that it was the first time he could recall Kinmen units to take such action. Commercial drones at a DJI drone store in Shanghai in December 2021. CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images On the evening of August 5, Taiwan’s military said troops in Kinmen spotted four drones and fired flares to warn them to leave. Taiwan’s military said similar aircraft were spotted around Taiwan’s Matsu Archipelago, which is off China’s coast north of Kinmen, around the same time. Taiwan’s defense ministry said on August 7 that its forces are on alert and deployed to monitor Chinese aircraft, ships and drones that are “simulating attacks on the island of Taiwan”. China said its exercises around Taiwan ended on August 10, but maintained a high level of naval and air activity around the island. (Taiwan began its own drills, which it said were defensive, on Aug. 9.) China’s “high-intensity” operations in early August, “including the use of drones to invade [over] “Taiwan’s offshore islands” were “absurd and provocative,” Maj. Gen. Min-Han Hsieh said at a Taiwan Defense Ministry briefing on Wednesday. — Tingting Liu (@tingtingliuTVBS) August 24, 2022 “In response, Taiwan’s military immediately raised alertness and increased combat readiness, adhering to the principles of preparing for a war without pursuing,” added Hsieh, an officer in the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Operations and Planning. Drone flights over Taiwanese territory continued throughout the month, attracting international attention and stronger reactions from Taiwan. On August 16, a civilian drone from mainland China flew over a Kinmen islet, photographing and filming Taiwanese troops, some of whom threw rocks at the drone. The video was widely shared on Chinese social media. The last few days of August saw more drone flights over Taiwan’s offshore islands and off Taiwan’s east coast, where local observers estimated one drone circled for an hour on August 30. That drone flew through the Miyako Strait, between the Japanese islands of Okinawa and Miyakojima, and Japan used fighter jets to intercept it. A Chinese TB-001 reconnaissance/attack drone over the western Pacific on August 30, 2022. Japanese Ministry of Defense Taiwan’s military said on August 29 that it would adopt a four-step response to such drone flights: “firing warning flares, reporting the intrusion, chasing the drone and finally shooting it down.” Taiwanese troops acted on that process hours later, firing warning shots at three drones that flew over parts of Kinmen on August 30. Taiwan’s military described them as “civilian” drones and said they returned to Xiamen after the shootings. On Thursday, Taiwanese forces shot down a drone for the first time. Chang, a spokesman for the Kinmen Defense Command, said the drone took off from Xiamen and was over restricted waters around a Kinmen islet when Taiwanese troops initiated the procedure, “warning it before shooting it down after it failed to leave the region”. Kinmen and Matsu are just a few miles from mainland China, and Beijing has long used activity around those islands to pressure Taipei. A small Chinese civilian plane flew near a Matsu island in February in what Taiwan’s military said may have been a test of its responses.

“A Whole New Level”

                          A Chinese military vehicle carrying a Pterodactyl I drone at a military parade in Beijing September 3, 2015. Reuters/Jason Lee

While Taiwanese officials have identified many of the drones involved in recent overflights as civilian, China’s military has invested heavily in an array of drones and boats. “I watch Chinese military news every night, and pretty much every exercise now incorporates drones in some way,” Lyle Goldstein said at an Aug. 10 event hosted by Defense Priorities, where Goldstein directs the Asia Engagement program. Drones “would be huge” in a future Chinese military action, Goldstein said, adding that China was “crazy about drones” before Russia attacked Ukraine in February, “but the war in Ukraine has taken it to a whole new level”. The distance covered by some Chinese military drones was astonishing, according to Taylor Fravel, director of the Security Studies Program at MIT, who said the flights over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands northeast of Taiwan appeared to be a new step. It may not be surprising that China would like to access the Pacific through these islands, Fravel, an expert on the Chinese military, said at the Defense Priorities event. “On the other hand, if it’s new, then that reflects some progressive progress in terms of Chinese aviation or Chinese surveillance systems in general, and that they’re going to have a much longer range in ways that can support ship targeting,” Fravel added. A Chinese BZK-005 reconnaissance drone east of Taiwan on August 4, 2020. Japan’s Ministry of Defense Small, low-flying drones also offer concrete benefits to Beijing’s operations around Taiwan. “A drone that’s slower and has more endurance is a better choice for this type of operation where you’re just trying to be on top, to make sure you’re seen, to be annoying and disruptive and a little threatening. Stacie Pettyjohn, director of the Defense Program at the Center for a New American Security, said at an Aug. 11 event. Drones, especially civilian models, are also cheaper and seen as less likely to have the same level of response as manned military aircraft, but China’s continued drone flights and Taiwan’s promise to respond have raised concerns about escalation. Taiwan has so far responded relatively strongly to Chinese drone flights, Charles Chong-Han Wu, visiting fellow at the Stimson Center’s East Asia Program, said at the Aug. 11 event. There are likely to be more such flights around Kinmen and Matsu, Wu said, adding that China may also “do more of this kind of gray zone enforcement” around the main island of Taiwan. For its part, Taiwan is increasing investment in military drones, learning lessons about their usefulness from the war in Ukraine. …

title: “China Is Putting Pressure On Taiwan By Increasing Drone Flights Near Islands Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-20” author: “Brent Ramage”

China’s drones have been a constant part of its military activity around Taiwan in recent weeks, demonstrating new capabilities and putting increased pressure on the self-ruled island, which Beijing claims as part of its territory. Drone flights, often by small civilian models, over Taiwan’s remote islands are among China’s most visible pressure tactics, and experts and officials worry that such actions risk turning high tensions into outright conflict. China began a series of military exercises around Taiwan after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island on August 3. The drills included live-fire exercises over and around the island and repeated flights by Chinese aircraft across the median line, an unofficial but widely recognized boundary in the Taiwan Strait. The first overflight since the trip by Chinese drones was reported hours after Pelosi left, when Taiwanese troops fired flares at two drones over Kinmen County — a group of Taiwanese islands a few miles off the coast of the Chinese city of Xiamen. Major General Chang Jung-shun of the Taiwanese military’s Kinmen Defense Command told local media that it was the first time he could recall Kinmen units to take such action. Commercial drones at a DJI drone store in Shanghai in December 2021. CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images On the evening of August 5, Taiwan’s military said troops in Kinmen spotted four drones and fired flares to warn them to leave. Taiwan’s military said similar aircraft were spotted around Taiwan’s Matsu Archipelago, which is off China’s coast north of Kinmen, around the same time. Taiwan’s defense ministry said on August 7 that its forces are on alert and deployed to monitor Chinese aircraft, ships and drones that are “simulating attacks on the island of Taiwan”. China said its exercises around Taiwan ended on August 10, but maintained a high level of naval and air activity around the island. (Taiwan began its own drills, which it said were defensive, on Aug. 9.) China’s “high-intensity” operations in early August, “including the use of drones to invade [over] “Taiwan’s offshore islands” were “absurd and provocative,” Maj. Gen. Min-Han Hsieh said at a Taiwan Defense Ministry briefing on Wednesday. — Tingting Liu (@tingtingliuTVBS) August 24, 2022 “In response, Taiwan’s military immediately raised alertness and increased combat readiness, adhering to the principles of preparing for a war without pursuing,” added Hsieh, an officer in the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Operations and Planning. Drone flights over Taiwanese territory continued throughout the month, attracting international attention and stronger reactions from Taiwan. On August 16, a civilian drone from mainland China flew over a Kinmen islet, photographing and filming Taiwanese troops, some of whom threw rocks at the drone. The video was widely shared on Chinese social media. The last few days of August saw more drone flights over Taiwan’s offshore islands and off Taiwan’s east coast, where local observers estimated one drone circled for an hour on August 30. That drone flew through the Miyako Strait, between the Japanese islands of Okinawa and Miyakojima, and Japan used fighter jets to intercept it. A Chinese TB-001 reconnaissance/attack drone over the western Pacific on August 30, 2022. Japanese Ministry of Defense Taiwan’s military said on August 29 that it would adopt a four-step response to such drone flights: “firing warning flares, reporting the intrusion, chasing the drone and finally shooting it down.” Taiwanese troops acted on that process hours later, firing warning shots at three drones that flew over parts of Kinmen on August 30. Taiwan’s military described them as “civilian” drones and said they returned to Xiamen after the shootings. On Thursday, Taiwanese forces shot down a drone for the first time. Chang, a spokesman for the Kinmen Defense Command, said the drone took off from Xiamen and was over restricted waters around a Kinmen islet when Taiwanese troops initiated the procedure, “warning it before shooting it down after it failed to leave the region”. Kinmen and Matsu are just a few miles from mainland China, and Beijing has long used activity around those islands to pressure Taipei. A small Chinese civilian plane flew near a Matsu island in February in what Taiwan’s military said may have been a test of its responses.

“A Whole New Level”

                          A Chinese military vehicle carrying a Pterodactyl I drone at a military parade in Beijing September 3, 2015. Reuters/Jason Lee

While Taiwanese officials have identified many of the drones involved in recent overflights as civilian, China’s military has invested heavily in an array of drones and boats. “I watch Chinese military news every night, and pretty much every exercise now incorporates drones in some way,” Lyle Goldstein said at an Aug. 10 event hosted by Defense Priorities, where Goldstein directs the Asia Engagement program. Drones “would be huge” in a future Chinese military action, Goldstein said, adding that China was “crazy about drones” before Russia attacked Ukraine in February, “but the war in Ukraine has taken it to a whole new level”. The distance covered by some Chinese military drones was astonishing, according to Taylor Fravel, director of the Security Studies Program at MIT, who said the flights over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands northeast of Taiwan appeared to be a new step. It may not be surprising that China would like to access the Pacific through these islands, Fravel, an expert on the Chinese military, said at the Defense Priorities event. “On the other hand, if it’s new, then that reflects some progressive progress in terms of Chinese aviation or Chinese surveillance systems in general, and that they’re going to have a much longer range in ways that can support ship targeting,” Fravel added. A Chinese BZK-005 reconnaissance drone east of Taiwan on August 4, 2020. Japan’s Ministry of Defense Small, low-flying drones also offer concrete benefits to Beijing’s operations around Taiwan. “A drone that’s slower and has more endurance is a better choice for this type of operation where you’re just trying to be on top, to make sure you’re seen, to be annoying and disruptive and a little threatening. Stacie Pettyjohn, director of the Defense Program at the Center for a New American Security, said at an Aug. 11 event. Drones, especially civilian models, are also cheaper and seen as less likely to have the same level of response as manned military aircraft, but China’s continued drone flights and Taiwan’s promise to respond have raised concerns about escalation. Taiwan has so far responded relatively strongly to Chinese drone flights, Charles Chong-Han Wu, visiting fellow at the Stimson Center’s East Asia Program, said at the Aug. 11 event. There are likely to be more such flights around Kinmen and Matsu, Wu said, adding that China may also “do more of this kind of gray zone enforcement” around the main island of Taiwan. For its part, Taiwan is increasing investment in military drones, learning lessons about their usefulness from the war in Ukraine. …

title: “China Is Putting Pressure On Taiwan By Increasing Drone Flights Near Islands Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-10-27” author: “Gloria Davis”

China’s drones have been a constant part of its military activity around Taiwan in recent weeks, demonstrating new capabilities and putting increased pressure on the self-ruled island, which Beijing claims as part of its territory. Drone flights, often by small civilian models, over Taiwan’s remote islands are among China’s most visible pressure tactics, and experts and officials worry that such actions risk turning high tensions into outright conflict. China began a series of military exercises around Taiwan after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island on August 3. The drills included live-fire exercises over and around the island and repeated flights by Chinese aircraft across the median line, an unofficial but widely recognized boundary in the Taiwan Strait. The first overflight since the trip by Chinese drones was reported hours after Pelosi left, when Taiwanese troops fired flares at two drones over Kinmen County — a group of Taiwanese islands a few miles off the coast of the Chinese city of Xiamen. Major General Chang Jung-shun of the Taiwanese military’s Kinmen Defense Command told local media that it was the first time he could recall Kinmen units to take such action. Commercial drones at a DJI drone store in Shanghai in December 2021. CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images On the evening of August 5, Taiwan’s military said troops in Kinmen spotted four drones and fired flares to warn them to leave. Taiwan’s military said similar aircraft were spotted around Taiwan’s Matsu Archipelago, which is off China’s coast north of Kinmen, around the same time. Taiwan’s defense ministry said on August 7 that its forces are on alert and deployed to monitor Chinese aircraft, ships and drones that are “simulating attacks on the island of Taiwan”. China said its exercises around Taiwan ended on August 10, but maintained a high level of naval and air activity around the island. (Taiwan began its own drills, which it said were defensive, on Aug. 9.) China’s “high-intensity” operations in early August, “including the use of drones to invade [over] “Taiwan’s offshore islands” were “absurd and provocative,” Maj. Gen. Min-Han Hsieh said at a Taiwan Defense Ministry briefing on Wednesday. — Tingting Liu (@tingtingliuTVBS) August 24, 2022 “In response, Taiwan’s military immediately raised alertness and increased combat readiness, adhering to the principles of preparing for a war without pursuing,” added Hsieh, an officer in the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Operations and Planning. Drone flights over Taiwanese territory continued throughout the month, attracting international attention and stronger reactions from Taiwan. On August 16, a civilian drone from mainland China flew over a Kinmen islet, photographing and filming Taiwanese troops, some of whom threw rocks at the drone. The video was widely shared on Chinese social media. The last few days of August saw more drone flights over Taiwan’s offshore islands and off Taiwan’s east coast, where local observers estimated one drone circled for an hour on August 30. That drone flew through the Miyako Strait, between the Japanese islands of Okinawa and Miyakojima, and Japan used fighter jets to intercept it. A Chinese TB-001 reconnaissance/attack drone over the western Pacific on August 30, 2022. Japanese Ministry of Defense Taiwan’s military said on August 29 that it would adopt a four-step response to such drone flights: “firing warning flares, reporting the intrusion, chasing the drone and finally shooting it down.” Taiwanese troops acted on that process hours later, firing warning shots at three drones that flew over parts of Kinmen on August 30. Taiwan’s military described them as “civilian” drones and said they returned to Xiamen after the shootings. On Thursday, Taiwanese forces shot down a drone for the first time. Chang, a spokesman for the Kinmen Defense Command, said the drone took off from Xiamen and was over restricted waters around a Kinmen islet when Taiwanese troops initiated the procedure, “warning it before shooting it down after it failed to leave the region”. Kinmen and Matsu are just a few miles from mainland China, and Beijing has long used activity around those islands to pressure Taipei. A small Chinese civilian plane flew near a Matsu island in February in what Taiwan’s military said may have been a test of its responses.

“A Whole New Level”

                          A Chinese military vehicle carrying a Pterodactyl I drone at a military parade in Beijing September 3, 2015. Reuters/Jason Lee

While Taiwanese officials have identified many of the drones involved in recent overflights as civilian, China’s military has invested heavily in an array of drones and boats. “I watch Chinese military news every night, and pretty much every exercise now incorporates drones in some way,” Lyle Goldstein said at an Aug. 10 event hosted by Defense Priorities, where Goldstein directs the Asia Engagement program. Drones “would be huge” in a future Chinese military action, Goldstein said, adding that China was “crazy about drones” before Russia attacked Ukraine in February, “but the war in Ukraine has taken it to a whole new level”. The distance covered by some Chinese military drones was astonishing, according to Taylor Fravel, director of the Security Studies Program at MIT, who said the flights over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands northeast of Taiwan appeared to be a new step. It may not be surprising that China would like to access the Pacific through these islands, Fravel, an expert on the Chinese military, said at the Defense Priorities event. “On the other hand, if it’s new, then that reflects some progressive progress in terms of Chinese aviation or Chinese surveillance systems in general, and that they’re going to have a much longer range in ways that can support ship targeting,” Fravel added. A Chinese BZK-005 reconnaissance drone east of Taiwan on August 4, 2020. Japan’s Ministry of Defense Small, low-flying drones also offer concrete benefits to Beijing’s operations around Taiwan. “A drone that’s slower and has more endurance is a better choice for this type of operation where you’re just trying to be on top, to make sure you’re seen, to be annoying and disruptive and a little threatening. Stacie Pettyjohn, director of the Defense Program at the Center for a New American Security, said at an Aug. 11 event. Drones, especially civilian models, are also cheaper and seen as less likely to have the same level of response as manned military aircraft, but China’s continued drone flights and Taiwan’s promise to respond have raised concerns about escalation. Taiwan has so far responded relatively strongly to Chinese drone flights, Charles Chong-Han Wu, visiting fellow at the Stimson Center’s East Asia Program, said at the Aug. 11 event. There are likely to be more such flights around Kinmen and Matsu, Wu said, adding that China may also “do more of this kind of gray zone enforcement” around the main island of Taiwan. For its part, Taiwan is increasing investment in military drones, learning lessons about their usefulness from the war in Ukraine. …

title: “China Is Putting Pressure On Taiwan By Increasing Drone Flights Near Islands Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-16” author: “Clara Manning”

China’s drones have been a constant part of its military activity around Taiwan in recent weeks, demonstrating new capabilities and putting increased pressure on the self-ruled island, which Beijing claims as part of its territory. Drone flights, often by small civilian models, over Taiwan’s remote islands are among China’s most visible pressure tactics, and experts and officials worry that such actions risk turning high tensions into outright conflict. China began a series of military exercises around Taiwan after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island on August 3. The drills included live-fire exercises over and around the island and repeated flights by Chinese aircraft across the median line, an unofficial but widely recognized boundary in the Taiwan Strait. The first overflight since the trip by Chinese drones was reported hours after Pelosi left, when Taiwanese troops fired flares at two drones over Kinmen County — a group of Taiwanese islands a few miles off the coast of the Chinese city of Xiamen. Major General Chang Jung-shun of the Taiwanese military’s Kinmen Defense Command told local media that it was the first time he could recall Kinmen units to take such action. Commercial drones at a DJI drone store in Shanghai in December 2021. CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images On the evening of August 5, Taiwan’s military said troops in Kinmen spotted four drones and fired flares to warn them to leave. Taiwan’s military said similar aircraft were spotted around Taiwan’s Matsu Archipelago, which is off China’s coast north of Kinmen, around the same time. Taiwan’s defense ministry said on August 7 that its forces are on alert and deployed to monitor Chinese aircraft, ships and drones that are “simulating attacks on the island of Taiwan”. China said its exercises around Taiwan ended on August 10, but maintained a high level of naval and air activity around the island. (Taiwan began its own drills, which it said were defensive, on Aug. 9.) China’s “high-intensity” operations in early August, “including the use of drones to invade [over] “Taiwan’s offshore islands” were “absurd and provocative,” Maj. Gen. Min-Han Hsieh said at a Taiwan Defense Ministry briefing on Wednesday. — Tingting Liu (@tingtingliuTVBS) August 24, 2022 “In response, Taiwan’s military immediately raised alertness and increased combat readiness, adhering to the principles of preparing for a war without pursuing,” added Hsieh, an officer in the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Operations and Planning. Drone flights over Taiwanese territory continued throughout the month, attracting international attention and stronger reactions from Taiwan. On August 16, a civilian drone from mainland China flew over a Kinmen islet, photographing and filming Taiwanese troops, some of whom threw rocks at the drone. The video was widely shared on Chinese social media. The last few days of August saw more drone flights over Taiwan’s offshore islands and off Taiwan’s east coast, where local observers estimated one drone circled for an hour on August 30. That drone flew through the Miyako Strait, between the Japanese islands of Okinawa and Miyakojima, and Japan used fighter jets to intercept it. A Chinese TB-001 reconnaissance/attack drone over the western Pacific on August 30, 2022. Japanese Ministry of Defense Taiwan’s military said on August 29 that it would adopt a four-step response to such drone flights: “firing warning flares, reporting the intrusion, chasing the drone and finally shooting it down.” Taiwanese troops acted on that process hours later, firing warning shots at three drones that flew over parts of Kinmen on August 30. Taiwan’s military described them as “civilian” drones and said they returned to Xiamen after the shootings. On Thursday, Taiwanese forces shot down a drone for the first time. Chang, a spokesman for the Kinmen Defense Command, said the drone took off from Xiamen and was over restricted waters around a Kinmen islet when Taiwanese troops initiated the procedure, “warning it before shooting it down after it failed to leave the region”. Kinmen and Matsu are just a few miles from mainland China, and Beijing has long used activity around those islands to pressure Taipei. A small Chinese civilian plane flew near a Matsu island in February in what Taiwan’s military said may have been a test of its responses.

“A Whole New Level”

                          A Chinese military vehicle carrying a Pterodactyl I drone at a military parade in Beijing September 3, 2015. Reuters/Jason Lee

While Taiwanese officials have identified many of the drones involved in recent overflights as civilian, China’s military has invested heavily in an array of drones and boats. “I watch Chinese military news every night, and pretty much every exercise now incorporates drones in some way,” Lyle Goldstein said at an Aug. 10 event hosted by Defense Priorities, where Goldstein directs the Asia Engagement program. Drones “would be huge” in a future Chinese military action, Goldstein said, adding that China was “crazy about drones” before Russia attacked Ukraine in February, “but the war in Ukraine has taken it to a whole new level”. The distance covered by some Chinese military drones was astonishing, according to Taylor Fravel, director of the Security Studies Program at MIT, who said the flights over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands northeast of Taiwan appeared to be a new step. It may not be surprising that China would like to access the Pacific through these islands, Fravel, an expert on the Chinese military, said at the Defense Priorities event. “On the other hand, if it’s new, then that reflects some progressive progress in terms of Chinese aviation or Chinese surveillance systems in general, and that they’re going to have a much longer range in ways that can support ship targeting,” Fravel added. A Chinese BZK-005 reconnaissance drone east of Taiwan on August 4, 2020. Japan’s Ministry of Defense Small, low-flying drones also offer concrete benefits to Beijing’s operations around Taiwan. “A drone that’s slower and has more endurance is a better choice for this type of operation where you’re just trying to be on top, to make sure you’re seen, to be annoying and disruptive and a little threatening. Stacie Pettyjohn, director of the Defense Program at the Center for a New American Security, said at an Aug. 11 event. Drones, especially civilian models, are also cheaper and seen as less likely to have the same level of response as manned military aircraft, but China’s continued drone flights and Taiwan’s promise to respond have raised concerns about escalation. Taiwan has so far responded relatively strongly to Chinese drone flights, Charles Chong-Han Wu, visiting fellow at the Stimson Center’s East Asia Program, said at the Aug. 11 event. There are likely to be more such flights around Kinmen and Matsu, Wu said, adding that China may also “do more of this kind of gray zone enforcement” around the main island of Taiwan. For its part, Taiwan is increasing investment in military drones, learning lessons about their usefulness from the war in Ukraine. …