Taiwan shoots down drone over tiny islet off China

TAIPEI, Sept 1 (AFP): Taiwanese soldiers on a tiny islet just off China's mainland shot down an unidentified commercial drone on Thursday as a local tycoon vowed to train millions of "civilian warriors" to defend the island.
It is the first time Taiwanese forces have downed a drone, and it comes at a time when tensions between the two neighbours are at their highest in decades following a visit to Taipei last month by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Taiwan's 23 million people live under constant threat of invasion by China, which claims the self-ruled democratic island as part of its territory to be taken one day -- by force if necessary.
Beijing staged unprecedented military drills last month in response to Pelosi's trip.
Taiwan has also reported a sudden spate of drone incursions by small commercially-available devices in recent weeks. The military said on Thursday that a civilian drone had entered a "restricted zone" above Shiyu Islet, a small rock that lies between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan's Kinmen islands.
"The stationed troops followed procedures to warn off the drone but to no avail. The drone was shot down in defensive fire," the defence ministry said.
Kinmen lies just a few miles off China's coastline and Taiwan has previously reported small drones hovering over its military outposts there.
Videos have circulated on both Taiwanese and Chinese social media, with one showing Taiwanese soldiers hurling rocks at a drone to drive it away.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen warned this week that the military might be forced to resort to live fire if the drones ignored warnings to leave.
China has played down the incursions, with foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian saying Monday they were not "anything worth making a fuss about" as the drones were "flying around Chinese territory".
Beijing's sabre-rattling towards Taiwan has ramped up under President Xi Jinping, China's most assertive leader in a generation.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has also raised questions about whether China might follow suit in Taiwan -- and whether the island is equipped to defend itself.