The Ministry of National Defense yesterday said that six Chinese balloons either flew over the nation or through airspace just north of it, while Chinese warplanes and navy ships were also detected in the area.
The dispatch of such balloons, which generally disappear into the Pacific to the east, appears to be on the rise, although their purpose has not been publicly announced.
The ministry noted the balloon sightings on a list of Chinese People’s Liberation Army activity in the waters and airspace around Taiwan. One passed near the southern city of Pingtung, while the others flew just north of the Port of Keelung, an important naval base is located.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of National Defense
It remains unclear whether the balloons have an explicit military function, but they appear to be part of a campaign of harassment against Taiwan.
In the lead-up to Jan. 13’s presidential and legislative elections, China had been stepping up such activities, along with its rhetorical threats, although Beijing’s threats have generally been seen as backfiring.
The Democratic Progressive Party won a third straight term in the presidency.
US President Joe Biden early last year vowed sharper rules to track, monitor and potentially shoot down unknown aerial objects after a three-week drama sparked by the discovery of a suspected Chinese spy balloon transiting much of the US.
Washington labeled the balloon a military craft and shot it down with a missile. It recovered what it said was sophisticated surveillance equipment.
China responded angrily, saying it was only a weather balloon that had blown off course and called its downing a major overreaction.
Those are sometimes referred to as China’s “gray area tactics” that cause consternation among its foes without sparking a direct confrontation. China has long blurred the lines between military and civilian functions, including in the South China Sea, where it operates a huge maritime militia — ostensibly civilian fishing boats that act under government orders to assert Beijing’s territorial claims.
China’s campaign of intimidation against Taiwan includes the regular deployment of Chinese warships and planes in waters and airspace around the nation, often crossing the middle line of the 160km-wide Taiwan Strait that divides them.
Between Sunday and early yesterday morning, four Chinese warplanes and four navy ships were detected around Taiwan, the defense ministry said.
Taiwan’s military monitored the situation with combat aircraft, navy vessels and land-based missile systems, it added.
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