Taiwan Shoots Down Drone for First Time off Chinese Coast

Taiwan's military shot down for the first time an unidentified civilian drone that entered its airspace near an islet off the Chinese coast on Thursday, after the government vowed to take tough new measures to deal with an increase in such intrusions.

 Taiwanese troops shot the drone down near Kinmen Island around noon Thursday after attempts to repel it failed, according to a statement from the garrison on the Taipei-held outpost just off China.

That followed incidents on Tuesday and Wednesday in which Taiwan fired warning shots and flares at civilian drones that approached its offshore islands.