Taiwan deploys anti-drone guns to offshore islands

The move follows several incidents involving UAVs believed to be from mainland China

The Taiwanese military announced the deployment of anti-drone guns to the offshore islands of Kinmen and Matsu on Friday, following several UAV incursions allegedly coming from the Chinese mainland.

Kinmen and Matsu are groups of small islands in the Taiwan Strait, controlled by Taipei but located closer to the Chinese shoreline.

The Taiwanese military said troops were handed anti-drone guns as part of a flexible approach to tackling incoming threats.

The devices jam the frequency used by the ground station to connect with the UAV, causing the aircraft to spin out of control and crash.

Taiwan has reported several incursions by drones this week, and accused China of sending them to “undermine peace and stability.”

On Thursday, a UAV was shot down near the Kinmen islands. Live rounds were fired at the “civilian” drone after it ignored several warnings, according to Taipei.

Anti-drone guns have already been put to use by Taiwanese troops, who also repelled a UAV above the Kinmen islands on Saturday, the Taiwanese defense ministry said in a statement.

Taiwan has been self-governed since 1949, but never officially declared independence from China, which considers the island a part of its territory.

Tensions have flared between Taipei and Beijing since the visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan last month. China issued a furious response, launching massive drills in the Taiwan Strait and slapping trade restrictions on the island.

Earlier this week, the White House approved weapons sales of more than $1.1 billion to Taiwan, causing another angry reaction from China, which said the deal undermined its sovereignty and sent the “wrong signals” to “separatist forces” on the island.