Taipei [Taiwan] January 18 : An incursion by a Chinese military drone near Taiwan-controlled islands has raised renewed concerns over China's expanding pressure campaign in the South China Sea, with Taiwan warning that such actions threaten regional peace and stability.
According to Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence, a Chinese surveillance drone entered the southwestern section of Taiwan's air defence identification zone in the early hours of the morning and moved toward the Pratas Islands, also known as Dongsha, as reported by The Taipei Times.
According to The Taipei Times, the ministry said the aircraft approached the islands shortly before dawn and briefly entered territorial airspace at an altitude beyond the effective reach of local air-defence systems. The garrison stationed on the islands was immediately instructed to raise alert levels and intensify aerial monitoring. After repeated warnings broadcast through international radio frequencies, the drone withdrew several minutes later. The ministry condemned the manoeuvre as reckless and provocative, stating that it violated international norms and further destabilised the region.
Military analysts stated that the incident reflects a broader evolution in China's tactics around the Pratas Islands. What once amounted to sporadic "gray zone" pressure has increasingly transformed into coordinated, multi-domain operations designed to constrain Taiwan's administrative and military space. Past incidents, including the obstruction of resupply flights in 2020, are seen as early tests of this approach.
Experts say China has since adopted incremental "salami-slicing" measures, combining coast guard patrols, maritime militias, research vessels and drones under a civil-military framework. These activities aim to gradually undermine Taiwan's restricted and prohibited waters. In recent years, China has also deployed semi-permanent structures, such as offshore drilling platforms, and conducted intensive hydrological surveys to prepare the surrounding area for potential military use, as cited by The Taipei Times.
Su Tzu-yun, a research fellow at the Institute for National Defence and Security Research, said the drone flight was a calculated move to probe Taiwan's rules of engagement by skirting the outer limits of territorial airspace rather than directly overflying military positions. He noted that the Pratas Islands are lightly defended due to historical and political constraints, limiting effective responses to high-altitude drones.
To address the growing challenge, Su urged Taiwan to enhance air-defence capabilities on its outlying islands, including longer-range missile systems and electronic warfare tools, as reported by The Taipei Times.