TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan's military on Monday (Sept. 12) fired warning shots to drive away a Chinese drone from a tiny island in Kinmen County.

At 7:37 p.m. on Monday, the Army's Kinmen Defense Command (KDC) announced that a suspected Chinese drone was spotted entering the restricted waters around Kinmen's Cao Yu Island. In response, Taiwanese troops engaged jammer guns, shot live rounds, and fired signal flares toward the drone.

The UAV then quickly flew away from the prohibited area. The KDC stated that it will continue to maintain vigilance and closely monitor the situation.

Over the past month, Kimen has seen increased Chinese drone activity, prompting the military to take more aggressive action, including shooting a drone down in at least one instance. Chinese officials have claimed that they are "civilian drones" and state-run XMTV cited the Fujian Xiamen Public Security Bureau as announcing that from Sept. 3 - 12, local management of small civil aircraft and airborne objects would be strengthened.

These restrictions on civil aviation were alleged to ensure the "safe and smooth operation of the 22nd China International Fair for Investment and Trade." Although these tighter restrictions were supposedly still in place on Monday, a "civilian drone" still appeared over Cao Yu, drawing into question the Chinese government's claims of the UAVs being "civilian."