Taiwan Shoots Down Drone In Its Airspace

Facts

• Taiwan announced that its troops for the first time ever shot down an unidentified civilian drone near Kinmen Island on Thurs. after attempts to repel it reportedly failed, and as tensions with China continue to escalate.
• This came as Taiwan fired warning shots at civilian drones that approached its offshore islands near the Chinese mainland on Tuesday and Wednesday.
• Taipei has said it won't escalate tensions but has recently been vocal regarding repeated cases of alleged Chinese drones entering its airspace. On Mon., China dismissed Taiwan's concerns as nothing "to make a fuss about."
• Taiwan's complaints regarding drone flyovers began in July, although neither Beijing nor Taipei have identified where they originate.
• Tensions across the Taiwan Strait have grown in recent months, with Beijing - and subsequently Taipei - launching military drills following US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's controversial trip to the island in early August.
• Pelosi is not the only US official to visit Taiwan recently, with Sens. Ed Markey (D-MA) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), among others, also making trips to the island.

Sources: Reuters, Bloomberg, DW, and Al Jazeera.

Narratives

• Pro-China narrative, as provided by Global Times. The shooting down of a harmless civilian drone is Taiwan's attempt to magnify an already tense situation. Rather than warning the drones away, this recent development will likely have the opposite effect, and only reveals Taipei armed forces' weak defenses.
• Anti-China narrative, as provided by Bloomberg. These drone flights are part of a string of provocative gestures by China to try to intimidate Taiwan's military. Taipei first responded cautiously, but has since been forced to respond more harshly, which it has every right to do when antagonized by China.