Taiwan reports Chinese balloon, first time in 6 months
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Taiwan said a single balloon was detected on Nov 24 at 6.21pm, it then vanished some two hours later.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
TAIPEI - Taiwan’s Defence Ministry on Nov 25 reported that a Chinese balloon had been detected over the sea to Taiwan’s north, the first time since April it has reported such an incident in what Taipei views as part of a pattern of harassment by Beijing.
Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, complained that in the weeks leading up to its presidential election in January, that Chinese balloon activity took place at an “unprecedented scale”.
It described the incidents as part of a Chinese pressure campaign – so-called grey-zone warfare designed to exhaust a foe using irregular tactics without open combat.
Taiwan strongly objects to China’s sovereignty claims and says only the island’s people can decide their future.
The ministry, in its regular morning update on Chinese military activities over the previous 24 hours, said the single balloon was detected at 6.21pm on Nov 24, 60 nautical miles to the north of Taiwan’s Keelung Port.
It then vanished some two hours later, having flown at an altitude of 10,000m, without crossing Taiwan itself, the ministry said.
When asked on Nov 25 about the latest balloon, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters: “First of all, Taiwan does not have a ‘defence ministry’. Furthermore, the question you asked is not a diplomatic one.”
China has previously dismissed Taiwan’s complaints about the balloons, saying they were for meteorological purposes and should not be hyped up for political reasons.
The potential for China to use balloons for spying became a global issue in 2023 when the US shot down what it said was a Chinese surveillance balloon
