Ep 206 | Eric Chan Discusses What Led the Taiwan Military to Shoot Down a Chinese Civilian Drone

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A note from Talking Taiwan host Felicia Lin:

On September first, the Taiwan military shot down a Chinese civilian drone that flew near Kimen. In this episode of Talking Taiwan. I speak with Eric Chan about what led up the incident, China's increased gray zone tactics toward Taiwan since U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in early August, and other news related to Taiwan's military, such as the Taiwan Policy Act and UMC founder, Robert Tsao's donation for civil defense in Taiwan.

Eric Chan is a non-resident research fellow at the Global Taiwan Institute, a Washington DC-based think tank dedicated to policy research on Taiwan and its people. He is also a senior airpower strategist with the U.S. Air Force, where he provides USAF with expertise on People's Republic of China military capabilities, political leadership, and strategic culture.

Mr. Chan was previously the China, Korea, Philippines, and Vietnam Country Director with the Air Force. In this role, Mr. Chan was responsible for USAF

engagement with the Chinese Air Force, and for managing security cooperation with key allies and partners.

Mr. Chan has published widely on Chinese influence operations and gray zone warfare, Taiwan military reform, and military diplomacy with the People's Liberation Army. He has written for publications including the Global Taiwan Brief, the USAF Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs, The Diplomat, and War on the Rocks.

Mr. Chan holds a Master's degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University and a Bachelor's degree in Political Science/History from the University of California, San Diego.

This episode of Talking Taiwan has been sponsored by NATWA, the North America Taiwanese Women's Association.

NATWA was founded in 1988, and its mission is:

1. to evoke a sense of self-esteem and enhance women's dignity,
2. to oppose gender discrimination and promote gender equality,
3. to fully develop women's potential and encourage their participation in public affairs,
4. to contribute to the advancement of human rights and democratic development in Taiwan,
5. to reach out and work with women's organizations worldwide to promote peace for all.

To learn more about NATWA visit their website: www.natwa.com

Here's a little preview of what we talked about in this podcast episode:

• How China's gray zone tactics towards Taiwan have changed over the years and since U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan in August
• Should there be concerns about these changes and China's use of drones in their gray zone tactics towards Taiwan
• What kind of intelligence can drones collect and damage they can do
• When China started sending drones over to Taiwan
• To date about 30 drones have flown over Kimen
• What led up to Taiwan's military shooting down a drone from China on September 1
• How Taiwan's military is considering installing anti-drone systems
• The difference between civilian and miliary drones
• How Ukraine has rigged civilian drones with grenades in the war with Russia
• The impact of China's military actions in response to Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan and was it a blockade
• How some have called China's recent military actions against Taiwan the fourth straits crisis
• What would constitute a military blockade of Taiwan
• Based on China's recent military actions, what do we know about China's military capability
• How Beijing's recent white paper "One China, Two Systems" does not include promises made in a previous 1993 paper that Taiwan could have its own administrative, legislative, and judicial institutions, run its own democratic system, have its own military and economic affairs
• How Beijing will use Taiwan's rejection of the white paper to justify harsher tactics against Taiwan
• How has China's' recent military actions and white paper affected public perception of people in China
• UMC (United Microelectronics Corporation) founder, Robert Tsao's sizeable donation for civil defense of Taiwan
• The Taiwan Policy Act which has been passed through the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
• What the Taiwan Policy Act would mean for Taiwan and the Taiwan Relations Act
• The message that the Taiwan Policy Act would send to China

Related Links:

To view all related links for this article, click link below:

https://talkingtaiwan.com/eric-chan-discusses-what-led-the-taiwan-military-to-shoot-down-a-chinese-civilian-drone-ep-206/