A suspected Chinese surveillance balloon flying over the US was yesterday condemned by officials in Taipei and sparked calls for the government to plan countermeasures.
The Pentagon on Thursday said it had detected a Chinese surveillance balloon flying over the country.
Beijing has said the balloon is a civilian meteorological device that drifted into US territory after being blown off course.
Photo courtesy of the Central Weather Bureau
The National Security Bureau and Ministry of National Defense should investigate whether surveillance balloons could be used against Taiwan and prepare to respond to such acts, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s postponement of his visit to China as a result of the incident was a foreseeable consequence arising from the competition for power between the two countries, he added.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned China in a statement, saying that Beijing’s behavior breached international laws and was “unacceptable to the community of civilized nations.”
Photo: Cheng Wei-chi, Taipei Times
China should cease all activities that infringe on the sovereignty of other nations or cause instability in the region, it said.
Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) urged China to respect the sovereign airspace of other countries, as that would facilitate peace, mutual aid and cooperation between nations.
Lu Yeh-chung (盧業中), a professor in National Chengchi University’s Department of Diplomacy, said the balloon incident showed the “extreme lack of trust” between the US and China.
The two countries are likely to remain locked in competition for some time, Lu added.
That Blinken would delay a long-planned visit to Beijing over the incident hinted at other under-the-table disputes that might have occurred between the US and China while they were preparing for the visit, he said.
The strong response the incident elicited from Washington was diplomatically appropriate, as national security is an issue of utmost importance to the US, Lu said, adding that failing to send a clear signal could embolden China.
Similar balloons were first spotted in Japan’s Miyagi Prefecture in June 2020, although no country claimed ownership of the craft at the time, Central Weather Bureau Director-General Cheng Ming-dean (鄭明典) said.
Bureau personnel observed a balloon of the same type hovering over Taipei in September 2021, and members of the public reported seeing another in March last year, this time above Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport), he said.
The objects were in the two areas for about three hours and photographs were taken of them, Cheng said.
Civilian weather balloons — typically 2m wide and made of rubber — usually hover close to the launch site and at a height of no more than 30km, he said.
The Chinese balloons observed in the Taiwan incidents were no less than 20m wide, and their range and altitude suggest different materials were used to construct them, he said.
Additional reporting by Chou Ming-hung
Tropical Storm Gaemi strengthened into a typhoon at 2pm yesterday, and could make landfall in Yilan County tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency was scheduled to issue a sea warning at 11:30pm yesterday, and could issue a land warning later today. Gaemi was moving north-northwest at 4kph, carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 118.8kph and gusts of 154.8kph. The circumference is forecast to reach eastern Taiwan tomorrow morning, with the center making landfall in Yilan County later that night before departing from the north coast, CWA weather forecaster Kuan Shin-ping (官欣平) said yesterday. Uncertainty remains and
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
DISRUPTIONS: The high-speed rail is to operate as normal, while several airlines either canceled flights or announced early departures or late arrivals Schools and offices in 15 cities and counties are to be closed today due to Typhoon Gaemi, local governments announced last night. The 15 are: Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Tainan, Keelung, Hsinchu and Kaohsiung, as well as Yilan, Hualien, Hsinchu, Miaoli, Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang counties. People should brace for torrential rainfall brought by the storm, with its center forecast to make landfall on the east coast between tonight and tomorrow morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The agency issued a sea warning for the typhoon at 11:30pm on Monday, followed by a land warning at 11:30am yesterday. As of
CASUALTY: A 70-year-old woman was killed by a falling tree in Kaohsiung as the premier warned all government agencies to remain on high alert for the next 24 hours Schools and offices nationwide are to be closed for a second day today as Typhoon Gaemi crosses over the nation, bringing torrential rain and whipping winds. Gaemi was forecast to make landfall late last night. From Tuesday night, its outer band brought substantial rainfall and strong winds to the nation. As of 6:15pm last night, the typhoon’s center was 20km southeast of Hualien County, Central Weather Administration (CWA) data showed. It was moving at 19kph and had a radius of 250km. As of 3pm yesterday, one woman had died, while 58 people were injured, the Central Emergency Operation Center said. The 70-year-old