TAIPEI: China's tactical sent a robot orbiting around Taiwan for the second opportunity in seven days, the island's safeguard service said Wednesday, flagging another observation strategy as cross-waterway pressures stay intense.
According to flight paths released by Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense, the People's Liberation Army flew a BZK-005 drone, a long-range reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle, around a large portion of the island's sensitive air-defense identification zone.
According to the flight paths, the drone flew from the north and around the eastern side of the zone before turning south and flying back west, circling a lot of Taiwan. The defense ministry stated that the flight occurred at some point during the 24 hours that ended at 6 a.m. on Wednesday. The occasion gave off an impression of being the second time the PLA has flown a tactical robot in this kind of roundabout way around Taiwan, as per information ordered by Bloomberg News in view of guard service discharges. The service started routinely distributing PLA flight designs openly in September 2020.
In the 24-hour period beginning at 6 a.m. on Friday, the first instance of a circular flight path occurred late last week. Shorter routes were used by previous PLA drones to circle the defense zone.
In response to questions from lawmakers, deputy director-general Chen Chin-kuang stated on Wednesday that Taiwan's National Security Bureau is closely monitoring the drone situation.
He stated, "At this time, no intelligence indicates that China intends to use drones to create gray-zone conflict." We will collaborate with our allies to monitor early warnings.
On Wednesday, the retired commander of the US Marine Corps Forces Pacific, Steven Rudder, led a delegation of defense contractors to Taiwan to discuss the joint development of military hardware, including drones and ammunition, with Taiwanese businesses. The flights of the warplanes and drones occurred at the same time.
In recent years, Beijing has increased its military activities near the island, including nearly daily incursions by warplanes across the Taiwan Strait. Over 1,700 military flights around the island were nearly doubled by the PLA in comparison to the previous year.
Taiwan has sought closer ties with Washington in response to increasing pressure from Beijing, which has increased tensions between the US and China. President Tsai Ing-wen met with previous US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last year and current speaker Kevin McCarthy last month. Beijing, which rejects Tsai's and her government's claim that the democratically run island is its own territory, was outraged by those events.
Following the McCarthy meeting, the PLA held three days of military drills all over Taiwan, declaring that it is "ready to fight at any time and crush separatism activities and foreign interference."