Taiwan shoots down 'civilian' drone for the first time off Chinese coast

The Taiwanese military shot down an unidentified 'civilian' drone that entered its airspace near the Chinese coast on Thursday after the government decided to take measures against intruding aircraft from China.

Since the visit of United Statesof Representativesspeaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, China has been conducting military drills near the Taiwan Strait and a number of aircraft entered Taiwanese airspace in the last couple of weeks. In August alone, 440 Chinese aircraft crossed the Taiwanese border, AFP reported.

The situation did not improve as Taiwan has hosted a number of world leaders since Pelosi’s visit.

A statement released by the defence command for Kinmen, a group of islands under Taiwan’s control, stated that the drone entered restricted air space over Lion Islet just after midday (0400 GMT).

According to Reuters, the statement further added that the action was taken after the military issued multiple warnings and the remains of the drone were not found after it landed in the sea.

Earlier, President Tsai Ing-wen announced that the Taiwanese military will be taking “countermeasures” against Chinese incursions after Beijing continued to conduct military drills in the region.

Tsai instructed the armed forces to not escalate the situation but added that they should respond to any kind of provocation like "drone intrusions and other grey zone tactics" by Beijing.

"She has also ordered the ministry of national defence to take necessary and strong countermeasures in a timely manner to defend national security," the statement from Tsai’s office said, according to AFP.

"Let the military guard the country without fear and with solid confidence," it added.

(With inputs from agencies)