Taiwan has been on alert as China conducts a series of military exercises in response to a visit to the island this week by U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Taiwan’s defence ministry said on Thursday that unidentified aircraft, probably drones, had flown on Wednesday night above the area of its Kinmen islands and that it had fired flares to drive them away.
Taiwan has been on alert as China conducts a series of military exercises in response to a visit to the island this week by U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Major General Chang Zone-sung of the Army’s Kinmen Defense Command told Reuters that the Chinese drones came in a pair and flew into the Kinmen area twice on Wednesday night, at around 9 p.m. (1300 GMT). and 10 p.m.
“We immediately fired flares to issue warnings and to drive them away. After that, they turned around. They came into our restricted area and that’s why we dispersed them,” he said.
The heavily fortified Kinmen islands are just off the southeastern coast of China, near the city of Xiamen.
“We have a standard operating procedure. We will react if they come in,” Chang said, adding that the alert level there remained “normal”.
Chang said he believed the drones were intended to gather intelligence on Taiwan’s security deployment in its outlying islands.
Last week, Taiwan’s military fired flares to warn away a drone that “glanced” its Matsu archipelago off the coast of China’s Fujian province and was possibly probing its defences, Taiwan’s defence ministry said.
Less time to read?
Try Quickreads
-
Sri Lanka’s SC extends travel ban on Mahinda Rajapaksa, Basil Rajapaksa
Sri Lankan Supreme Court on Wednesday extended the travel ban imposed on country’s former prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and Basil Rajapaksa until August 11. Three suspects were arrested on Tuesday by the Criminal Investigation Department of Sri Lanka for allegedly setting ablaze President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s private residence in Colombo on July 9, according to local media reports. The details of the third suspect were not immediately available.
-
China to begin military drills encircling Taiwan, Pakistan chimes in | 5 points
It will take place in multiple zones encircling Taiwan and will conclude at midday on Sunday. Taiwan claimed that some of them were launched by China and Russia. The Group of Seven advanced economies condemned the announced military drills, saying “there is no justification to use a visit as pretext for aggressive military activity in the Taiwan Strait”. It stressed that China’s “escalatory response risks increasing tensions and destabilising the region.”
-
The fake love story of Nancy Pelosi and Chinese journalist Hu Xijin
An alleged wedding photo of Nancy Pelosi is currently circulating on the web. It is supposed to show the speaker of the US House of Representatives with Chinese journalist Hu Xijin. But the entire story is a fake. Among other things, there is this story, which is not to be taken entirely seriously. Seated is her also a US politician, father Thomas D’Alesandro Jr.. The other image shows young Hu Xijin.
-
If govt uses forces, Imran’s supporters will siege Islamabad: Ex-Pak minister
As the stage is all set for Thursday’s protests by former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan against the Election Commission of Pakistan, former Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed said that if the government uses force against the protestors, the nationals will siege Islamabad and there will be “severe consequences”. The ruling by Pakistan Election Commission against Imran Khan’s party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, that the party received funding from prohibited sources, has irked Khan.
-
Zelenskyy seeking ‘direct talks’ with China’s Xi to help end Ukraine war: Report
Ukraine is seeking an opportunity to speak “directly” with Chinese leader Xi Jinping to help end its war with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, the South China Morning Post reported on Thursday. In an interview with SCMP, the Ukrainian leader urged China to use its outsize political and economic influence over Russia to bring an end to the fighting.