By deploying drones, Beijing is allegedly “shooting the first shot” in a potential battle over the island’s sovereignty, according to Taiwan, which has threatened to fire down any Chinese drones that enter its airspace.

“We will first sound warnings and lock the target before it approaches the island,”

Chiu Kuo-cheng, the defence minister, told the Taiwanese parliament.

“If the aircraft should ignore the warning, Taiwan must defend itself.”

He added:

“Given there is the first shot, we must respond, and a war will be declared after the counter-attack.”

Upon further questioning, Chiu responded:

“Yes, and the situation will be very grave.”

His remarks follow China’s People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) employment of drones over Taiwan for the first time this year as part of military drills in retaliation for Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the US House of Representatives, visiting Taipei.

Taiwan is regarded by Beijing as being a part of Chinese territory, and if necessary, Beijing has vowed to annex it. President Xi’s vision of national rebirth by 2050 can only be realised through unification.

Chinese civilian drones have been flying over Taiwan’s isolated Kinmen islands while Chinese military drones have crossed the boundary and entered Taiwan’s air defence identification zone since Pelosi’s visit.

“In the past, the first shot was defined as attacking with missiles and artillery shells, but now drones are frequently crossing the line without any provocation, causing great distress, so we will consider drones and aircraft as the first shot,”

Chiu said.

“Both sides are adjusting. It’s not any drastic change”.

Analysts believe Beijing is unlikely to attack the island in the near future, but they do think that China is seeking to create ‘hybrid warfare‘ techniques that use drones and psychological pressure in addition to conventional force in order to learn from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.