TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwanese troops on Thursday (Sept. 1) shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that had intruded over an island in Kinmen County and failed to heed warnings.

The Army's Kinmen Defense Command (KDC) at 1:40 p.m. on Thursday announced that at 12:03 p.m., an unidentified "civilian" UAV entered the airspace over the restricted waters of Shiyu Islet in Kinmen's Lieyu Township. Taiwanese troops responded by following standard operating procedures.

After the drone ignored warnings, troops fired live rounds at the UAV and succeeded in shooting it down. The command stated that it will continue to maintain vigilance and closely monitor the situation.

This is the third day in a row that Taiwanese soldiers have been forced to fire live ammunition at drones intruding over Kinmen's islands. On Tuesday (Aug. 30), soldiers fired at a Chinese UAV for failing to respond to warnings while circling over Erdan Island, before it retreated to China's Xiamen, marking the first time Taiwan troops had fired live ammunition at a Chinese drone.

On Wednesday, troops fired on three "civilian" Chinese drones that intruded on the airspace over Lieyu, Dadan, and Caoyu islands, and all three quickly flew away toward Xiamen. Thursday's incident marks the first time Taiwanese troops have shot down a suspected Chinese drone.

According to the Ministry of National Defense, the drone fell into the sea after being shot down, and the Army is unable to provide photos of the wreckage at this time.