Taiwan shoots down drone as China tensions simmer…

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Taiwan’s military said it shot down a drone hovering over one of its island outposts just off the Chinese coast on Thursday amid a spike in tensions with Beijing. The Kinmen Defense Command said the drone entered restricted airspace over Shiyu island just after noon. Flares and warning shots were fired but the drone maintained its position and was shot down, it said in a statement. It described the drone as being for “civilian use,” but did not say if it had been recovered or what weapon was used to bring it down. The day before, Taiwan said it warned off drones hovering over three of the islands it occupies off the coast of the Chinese port city of Xiamen. China claims Taiwan as its own territory, to be annexed by force if necessary. The sides split after a civil war in 1949 and have no official relations, with China cutting off even informal contacts following the election of independence-leaning Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in 2016. ADVERTISEMENTTensions between the sides have been especially high since China fired missiles into the Taiwan Strait and m …