War of words between China and Taiwan over drone incursions

Amidst tense situation and a constat fear of escalation that could quickly turn into a war, China and Taiwan have been blaming each other over a series of constant drone sorties undertaken by Beijing to keep an eye on Tapei's miliatry movement and related activites.

Standing firm against any pressure, Taiwan's president recently vowed "strong countermeasures" against such incursions, as reported by news agency AFP.

There has been a string of photos and videos reportedly taken by Chinese drones of the Kinmen islands, doing rounds on both Taiwanese and Chinese social media. A few days ago, a video emerged showing Taiwanese soldiers hurling rocks at one such drone to drive it off.


Recently, during her visit to air force facilities in offshore Penghu islands, President Tsai Ing-wen said China had used "greyzone" tactics such as drone intrusion to continue its "military intimidation" against Taiwan.

"I want to tell everyone that the more provocative the enemy is, the more calm we need to be... we will not provoke a war and we will restrain ourselves, but that does not mean that we will not take countermoves," she reportedly told the troops stationed in the archipelago in the Taiwan Strait.

Tsai added that she had ordered the defence ministry "to take necessary and strong countermeasures at an appropriate time to defend the security of our airspace".

Asked to comment on the videos Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said the incursions were not "anything worth making a fuss about" as the drones were "flying around Chinese territory".

But that response triggered an angry riposte from Taipei, which compared the drone harassment to the acts of a "thief".

"Those who come uninvited are called thieves, whether they are breaking through the door or peeping from the air, the people of Taiwan do not welcome such thieves," Taiwan's foreign ministry said in a statement late Monday.

"The authoritarian expansionist government of the Chinese Communist Party has always made harassing other countries a daily routine, and therefore its title of a 'regional troublemaker' is well deserved."

Taiwan lives under constant threat of invasion by China, which claims the self-ruled democratic island as part of its territory to be seized one day -- by force if necessary.

China's drone activity increased significantly as a show of strenth in retaliation to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan earlier this month.

Following Pelosi's visit, China showed its belligerent approch by sending its warships, missiles and fighter jets into the waters and skies around Taiwan to conduct its largest and most aggressive exercises since the mid-1990s.