Taiwan’s defence ministry has issued new guidelines for when and how its soldiers can shoot down drones as military threats from China continue to grow.
In a report released last week, the ministry said it was looking to procure anti-drone weapons systems amid incursions from mainland China and training troops to shoot down unmanned aircraft.
Noting the addition of drones to China’s “grey-zone tactics”, assaults stopping short of a direct attack, the ministry said it had developed a strategy to spot, identify and shoot down unmanned aircraft approaching the island.
The report comes at a time when Taiwan is ramping up military preparedness on land, at sea and in air with drills rehearsing multiple scenarios of engagement with Chinese forces in the event of an attack.
Taiwan’s outlying islands, which lie closer to China than to Taiwan’s main island, often face Chinese drones.
According to testimony by US intelligence and military leaders, Chinese president Xi Jinping has instructed the People’s Liberation Army to be ready to “invade or coerce” Taiwan by 2027, the centenary of the army’s founding.
China considers Taiwan its own sovereign territory, calling it a breakaway province, and doesn’t rule out reunifying the self-governing island with the mainland by force.
The newly released guidelines require Taiwanese troops to “first identify and track any unidentified drone”, and “report it to commanding officers while ensuring no danger to civilians”, according to the South China Morning Post. If the flying object continues to approach, they must use warning flares or sirens “to alert surrounding units and local law-enforcement agencies”.
Once they ensure the area is safe, they are authorised to engage the drone using light weapons or jamming guns.
The guidelines are designed to ensure soldiers “respond and fight immediately”, using “soft-kill and hard-kill methods”, according to the report.
Anti-drone systems were a top priority, the ministry said, and soldiers on the outlying islands were also practising night shooting in the course of the training.
The ministry’s spokesperson, Major General Sun Li-fang, said Taipei was continuing efforts to identify and use effective anti-drone systems in response to threats from China.
Developments in drone and anti-drone technologies and strategies were “very fast, and based on today’s situation there’s different progress every day”, he said. “This is one of our key points in our military preparedness efforts.”
Taiwan is also tracking China’s preparedness for establishing a blockade around the island, a display of Beijing’s grey zone tactics.
“The CCP has significantly increased joint combat readiness patrols, maritime and air blockades, joint firepower strikes,” the ministry said in the report, referring to China’s preparations.
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