A record six Chinese balloons flew across Taiwan between 6am on Saturday and 6am yesterday, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said.
In its daily report on Chinese military activities, the ministry said that the six balloons were among eight that crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait during the 24-hour period.
The eight balloons were detected between 10:05am and 3:34pm on Saturday at altitudes of 3,658m to 10,668m, it said.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of National Defense
Of the six that crossed Taiwan, some flew over Keelung in the north, while the others flew near Taichung, it added.
The ministry did not comment on the type of balloons involved or say why Beijing had sent them across the median line.
The median line in the Taiwan Strait served for decades as a tacit border, but the Chinese military has sent more aircraft, warships and drones across it since then-US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August 2022.
Saturday and yesterday marked the first day and second day of the new lunar year, which is celebrated on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, as well as by Chinese communities across the globe.
A military spokesman last month said that the daily sending of balloons to Taiwan was part of Chinese “gray zone” tactics in the run-up to the presidential and legislative elections on Jan. 13 and meant to “harass and rattle Taiwanese.”
The military has generally assessed the balloons as being for meteorological purposes, a conclusion drawn in part from its investigation of balloon debris found in February last year around Dongyin Island (東引).
The ministry last year said that similar equipment had been regularly detected in the air and sea around Taiwan, most often between December and February, because seasonal winds bring the balloons closer to Taiwan.
Speaking at a press event on Jan. 9, Colonel Wang Chia-chun (王家駿), deputy head of ministry’s joint operations planning section, said that shooting down the balloons would be “a waste of ammunition” and the exact response China wants from Taiwan.
Taiwan’s standard military response is to issue alerts to the relevant authorities and to closely monitor the balloons’ movements, particularly if they are found to be flying near more densely populated areas, he added.
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
A US uncrewed surface vessel (USV) encountered multiple Chinese warships during an autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait, US defense company Seasats said in a statement on Wednesday. Seasats announced that a Lightfish USV had completed the first autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait. Over five days, the USV traversed the entire length of the Strait while constantly monitoring surface vessel traffic, the company said. The Lightfish encountered multiple Chinese warships, one of which was a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 056 corvette, it said. The Chinese vessels were operating “well within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity via the
GREATER REACH? Auto parts and wood products would face tariffs of up to 15%, matching those targeting the EU, Japan and South Korea, Vice Premier said The US has announced that preferential tariff treatment for Taiwan’s non-semiconductor Section 232 goods would take effect retroactively from May 1, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The US government yesterday posted a notice on the Federal Register’s public inspection Web site previewing tariff concessions for Taiwan under a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Taiwan-US investment after two months of negotiations. The MOU signed on Jan. 15 stipulated three major preferential tariff arrangements: a 15 percent “reciprocal” tariff rate for Taiwan without stacking most-favored nation (MFN) rates; preferential Section 232 treatment for semiconductors and related products; and preferential Section 232 treatment for non-semiconductor
TIT-FOR-TAT: The US allegedly revoked the visa of a Chinese national working at Xinhua News Agency in the US in response to Beijing’s expulsion of Vivian Wang The Presidential Office yesterday condemned China for expelling a New York Times correspondent from Beijing following the newspaper’s interview with President William Lai (賴清德), saying the move highlighted Beijing’s suppression of press freedom and its threat to international news media. Taiwan has noted a series of recent incidents in which Beijing used similar tactics to “threaten and pressure international media outlets and journalists,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said in a statement. “This concerns not only press freedom and freedom of expression, but also the safety of journalists, and Taiwan and relevant partners are paying close attention to the situation,” she
RSS