Taiwan shoots down an unidentified drone over an island near China

() — Taiwan said it has shot down an unidentified civilian drone over one of its islands that is just a few kilometers from mainland China.

The Taiwanese coastal island of Shiyu, or Lion Islet, off the Chinese city of Xiamen, China.

The drone was seen shortly after noon Thursday over the waters of Lion Islet, a small island in the Kinmen county group that is controlled by Taiwan and is about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) off the coast of Xiamen. , China.

The Kinmen Defense Command, a branch of Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense, said the drone was shot down after warning flares failed to scare it away.

This is the latest in a series of similar incidents that have taken place near the offshore island group.

Unidentified drones have been reported in the Kinmen area for four days in a row, but this is the first time one has been shot down by Taiwan.

On Tuesday, Taiwanese soldiers fired flares at three unidentified drones flying near Kinmen and fired warning shots at one that re-entered the area.

It is unclear who is piloting the drones, although China’s foreign ministry said on Thursday it was “not aware of the situation” and “it made no sense for (Taiwan) to exaggerate the tension.”

After Tuesday’s incident, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said she had ordered the Defense Ministry to take “forceful countermeasures” against what she said were Chinese war tactics in the gray area.

On Wednesday, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense reinforced that message at an international press conference called in response to Chinese military exercises in August, saying it “will act in accordance with operational orders to exercise our rights of self-defense.”

Tensions between Taiwan and mainland China have risen since US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taipei in August. The Communist Party of China claims Taiwan, an autonomous democracy, as part of its territory even though it has never ruled it and has long vowed to “reunify” the island with mainland China, by force if necessary. China responded to Pelosi’s trip by ordering days of military exercises in Taiwan.

On Monday, when asked about reports of private drones flying in the Kinmen area, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman replied: “Chinese drones flying over China’s territory, what is surprising? “.