TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Three Navy commanders will face a new round of training after they sent poor-quality photos of Chinese drills, the Ministry of National Defense said Wednesday.

The officers were serving on three ships when China launched live-fire drills 74 kilometers from Taiwan’s southwest coast without advance notice on Feb. 26. They had been tasked with collecting information about the maneuvers, but the pictures they took were poor quality and arrived late, Radio Taiwan International reported.

Navy Chief of Staff Vice Admiral Chiu Chun-jung (邱俊榮) told a news conference Wednesday that the actions of the officers showed room for improvement. They had been disciplined as a warning, he said.

The Chinese drills were unprecedented and the three ships needed to be fast to monitor the maneuvers. The Taiwanese observers needed to collect all the necessary information, and send back pictures and details of the Chinese movements within 30 minutes, Chiu said.

The Navy chief added the weather in the area that day might have been a factor affecting the quality of the pictures and the timing of their transmission to base. The three officers were listed for additional training, but the incident would not affect their Navy careers, according to Chiu.