Chinese drones have been spotted near Kinmen, Matsu and warning shots have been fired as a result. Military experts pointed out that drone-jamming guns are the most beneficial countermeasure at this stage.
Chinese drones have recently intruded on Kinmen and Matsu many times. However, the military used signal flares as warnings and was criticized for being too passive. Facing frequent provocations by the CCP, President Tsai Ing-wen has ordered stronger countermeasures. The Ministry of National Defense fired live ammunition for the first time to drive away Chinese drones that entered Erdan on the afternoon of the 30th.
Lin Wen-huang, Director, Operations and Planning Office, MND: “If warnings to leave are ignored, we judged it to be a threat to our soldiers. We will then follow procedures to engage the aircraft because of our right to self-defense and counterattack.”
The MND pointed out that the CCP is trying to divide the public through conflict in the gray area. The military will strengthen its self-defense posture to ensure national security. However, KMT legislator Johnny Chiang pointed out that the law prohibits reconnaissance around military citadels. If the military does not counteract, the CCP will only get more aggressive. DPP legislator Chen Ting-fei criticized the MND for being too weak and demanded that it formulate a SOP.
Johnny Chiang, Legislator (KMT): “The Ministry of Defense only acted after the president came out to speak. How will the MND deal with any emergencies and crises then?”
Chen Ting-fei, Legislator (DPP): “How do we mobilize jammers and related instruments that can interfere with drones? How do we get these weapons into the hands of our soldiers in Kinmen and Matsu?”
Legislators on both sides stated the military, National Police Agency, airports, and local governments all have purchased drone jamming guns. They ask why they can't be requisitioned and deployed to Kinmen and Matsu. Military experts pointed out that shooting drones is the minimum countermeasure. However, such "hard-kill" measures have limited effectiveness and are still inferior to jamming guns for large-scale signal interference.
Chen Kuo-ming, Director, Defense International Magazine: “Seriously, everyone is amazed the military did not hurry and reposition jamming guns from different units, such as the air force, to counter-act against the drones. China, in fact, is fighting a cognitive war. They just want to deliberately film your soldiers being filmed by the drone to show you're panicked and incompetent.”
Japan's Ministry of Defense pointed out that a Chinese attack drone flew from the East China Sea through the airspace between Okinawa's main island and Miyako Island on the afternoon of the 30th. It then flew into the Pacific Ocean and then turned back to circle the area off Hualien's coast. The Japanese Air Self-Defense Force urgently scrambled jet fighters to monitor the drone. The Ministry of National Defense stated that it will closely monitor and grasp the dynamics of Chinese drones entering Taiwan's airspace.
中國無人機近期多次襲擾金門、馬祖防區上空，但國軍先前應對手段，大多採用信號彈警示，遭外界批評態度被動消極，面對中共頻繁挑釁，在總統蔡英文下令要有強力的反制措施後，金防部針對中國無人機30日下午再次進入二膽地區，首度實施實彈射擊驅離。
國防部作計室聯合作戰計畫處長林文皇表示：「若驅離無效的時候，我們判其對我造成威脅時我們將按照程序，來實施接戰的航機，並且一律來遂行自衛權反擊。」
國防部指出，中共透過灰色地帶的衝突手段，企圖分化民心，國軍會強化自我防衛態度，確保國家安全，不過，國民黨立委江啟臣指出，根據要塞堡壘地帶法規定，本來就禁止偵查作為，國軍不反制，只會讓對岸變本加厲，民進黨立委陳亭妃則痛批國防部太軟弱，要求訂定SOP。
江啟臣質疑：「結果要等到總統出來講話，然後國防部才有作為，那這樣要如何應對任何的突發狀況跟危機呢？」陳亭妃則說：「我們如何調動所有的干擾器，還有相關可以干擾無人機的這些儀器，怎麼樣能夠讓我們的金防部士兵國軍能夠有武器？」
不分朝野都質疑國軍、警政署、航空站、地方政府都有採購無人機干擾槍，為何不能先行徵用，配置在金門、馬祖？軍事專家指出，對無人機開槍是最低限度的反制，但這類「硬殺」措施成效有限，仍比不上干擾槍進行大規模訊號干擾。
全球防衛雜誌採訪主任陳國銘認為：「事發之後，沒有趕緊去跟友軍單位，可能空軍調用無人機干擾槍來運作，說真的是大家匪夷所思，因為其實中國他打的就是一個認知作戰，他就是要故意拍攝你守軍面對無人機驚慌失措，然後凸顯你無能。」
此外，日本防衛省統合幕僚監部指出，中國1架攻擊無人機30日下午從東海經沖繩本島與宮古島之間的空域，飛入太平洋再轉往台灣花蓮外海盤旋，日本航空自衛隊緊急派戰機起飛監控，國防部表示，針對查中共無人機進入我空域，會嚴密監控掌握動態。