After a video of Taiwanese troops throwing rocks at a Chinese drone went viral, Taiwan’s ministry of defense announced that it will put in place new equipment to repel drones. RFA reports:
Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense “will install a drone defense system next year” after a “humiliating” video showing Taiwanese soldiers throwing rocks at a hovering drone in Kinmen County emerged on Chinese social media, the ministry said late Wednesday. . . .
Wang Ting-yu, a lawmaker of Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party, was quoted by Reuters as describing the incident as “very serious.”
“The drone was flying on top of our soldiers on guard but there’s zero response,” Wang was quoted as saying.
The incident took place near Kinmen, which is one of Taiwan’s most important outermost islands, just off of the Chinese coast. The hovering drone is understood to be a test of Taiwanese positions on Kinmen, and the rock throwing video was widely mocked by Chinese netizens. Taiwanese officials, however, said the soldiers followed standard operating procedure and ultimately repelled the hovering drone using flares.