Chinese military drone reportedly circumnavigated Taiwan for the first time

() — A Chinese military drone was seen circumnavigating Taiwan, according to a flight map released by the Taiwanese Defense Ministry on Friday.

It is the first known incident of its kind since the Taiwanese Defense Ministry began regularly publishing the activities of the Chinese air force in 2020.

The military drone was identified as a TB-001 reconnaissance drone. The map showed it entered the air defense identification zone (ADIZ) of southwestern Taiwan, before flying along the eastern coast of the island and returning to mainland China in the north. China has stated that it does not recognize Taiwan’s ADIZ.

The drone was one of 19 Chinese warplanes that entered Taiwan’s ADIZ between 6 a.m. Thursday and 6 a.m. Friday, the Taiwanese Defense Ministry said in a statement. Among the other planes were fighters, drones and anti-submarine planes.

Raids by some Chinese warplanes on Taiwan’s ADIZ occur almost daily. No Chinese fighter jets entered Taiwan’s territorial airspace.

The Taiwanese Defense Ministry reported that it has tasked combat air patrol planes, navy ships and ground-based missile systems to respond to these activities.

has contacted the Chinese Defense Ministry for comment.