Frontline island on alert: Taiwan
Taiwan said yesterday that soldiers on one of its tiny frontline islands just off China's mainland were on heightened alert following provocations by Chinese civilian drones. Beijing claims democratic Taiwan as its own territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring the self-ruled island under its control. In addition to military pressure from Chinese warplanes and vessels that maintain a near-daily presence around the island, Taiwan has faced intrusions from civilian and unidentified drones that surveil and harass its troops. Taiwan's military said in a statement that soldiers stationed on Erdan island had been required to "increase their vigilance in surveillance" in response to "Chinese netizens frequently using drones to provoke". Erdan, which lies just five kilometres (three miles) from the Chinese coast, is part Taiwan's frontline Kinmen Island chain.
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