Taiwan says it reserves right to shoot down Chinese balloons

TAIPEI - Taiwan’s military said it reserved the right to shoot down any Chinese balloon it deems a threat, comments that come after a report that the devices often fly over the island.

“The ministry has rules in terms of response and will continue revising the rules in a timely manner to respond to new threats such as balloons,” Defence Ministry spokesman Sun Li-fang said in a phone call on Monday.

“The military will adopt appropriate measures, including shooting threats down, according to the level of concern,” he added.

The Financial Times reported the balloon flights by China’s military are frequent, with one occurring in recent weeks, citing a senior official from Taiwan.

The devices appear in the airspace of the island about once a month, another official said.

Any move by Taiwan to down such a balloon would likely prompt an angry response from China, which

said the United States “overreacted”

when it deployed an F-22 fighter to shoot one down off the US East Coast.

The US said the balloon was for surveillances purposes. China

insists it was for civilian use

and was collecting climate data when it was blown off course.

Taiwan’s military normally dispatches aircraft to observe balloons from China, a senior official who asked not to be identified discussing the sensitive topic said on Monday, adding that they were for military purposes.

Taiwan’s military acted in self-defence when it

shot down a drone

near an offshore outpost, then Premier Su Tseng-chang said in September 2022.

Mr Su referred to earlier unmanned aircraft that appeared in Taiwan territory as “Chinese drones.” BLOOMBERG