TAIPEI (TVBS News) — You probably saw the video of a Chinese drone apparently capturing footage of the Taipei 101 cityscape earlier this week. Millions saw it on social media. Taiwan denies the incident ever occurred — and has challenged its authenticity at a press conference. Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (國防部) accused China of engaging in "cognitive warfare" on Tuesday (Dec. 30), dismissing Beijing's claim that drones captured aerial footage during the "Justice Mission 2025" (正義使命-2025) military exercises.
Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升), deputy chief of the General Staff for Intelligence, confirmed Chinese drones never entered within 24 nautical miles (about 44 km) of Taiwan's coast. "Chinese drones remained outside Taiwan's waters yesterday, so their video does not accurately reflect reality," Hsieh said. "We believe this is cognitive warfare." Taiwan's fact-checkers concluded the footage released by Chinese state media was likely AI-processed imagery. The disputed video circulated widely on Weibo, China's equivalent of X.
The ministry countered with a 58-second clip titled "Stay Steady, Respond with Composure" (鎮定以對，從容自若), featuring F-16V fighter jet targeting pod footage (an infrared camera system mounted on the aircraft) of Taiwanese pilots tracking Chinese J-16D electronic warfare aircraft. "There is no need to process the video in any way," Hsieh said. "What we show is exactly what our air force saw while completing their mission."
Ministry spokesperson Sun Li-fang (孫立方) defended Taiwan's footage as authentic. "Since 2022, we have already proven that all our surveillance footage and photos of the PLA are real," Sun said. "We have never photoshopped anything." Officials identified 46 pieces of disputed Chinese messaging during the exercises, including false claims that Defense Minister Wellington Koo (顧立雄) was on leave.
The video dispute unfolded against significant military activity. The exercises marked the closest Chinese rocket fire to Taiwan since the 1996 Taiwan Strait Crisis, when China fired missiles near Taiwan during its first democratic presidential election. China launched 27 rockets in two waves, with some landing between Taiwan's territorial waters and contiguous zone. Taiwan detected 77 Chinese aircraft sorties and 17 warships between Tuesday at 6 a.m. and Wednesday at 6 a.m.
Both sides now invest heavily in video production alongside actual weapons systems. The Chinese footage that sparked this week's controversy may have been captured from international waters, processed through AI, and shared by millions — all without a single drone crossing Taiwan's airspace. In modern warfare, the image of invasion can be as powerful as invasion itself. ◼
