The deployment was “a routine flight training in the airspace around China’s Dongsha Island, which was completely legitimate and lawful”, the PLA Southern Theatre Command, which oversees the South China Sea, said in a statement on Saturday.
It came hours after the Taiwanese defence ministry reported that a PLA surveillance drone had entered the airspace of Pratas, also known as Dongsha in mainland China and Tungsha in Taiwan, at 5.44am and remained in the area for four minutes.
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It described the move as a “highly provocative and irresponsible” act that undermined regional stability and international norms.
The ministry also said that the drone operated at an altitude beyond the range of the island’s defence systems, prompting Taiwan to issue warnings over international radio channels during the encounter.
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Pratas is the largest natural island in the South China Sea and commands a vital strategic position in its northern reaches, bridging the Taiwan Strait and the Bashi Channel.
It lies 450km (280 miles) southwest of Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan and 260km from Shantou, in the southern mainland province of Guangdong.
