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.
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Friday condemned Chinese and Russian authorities for escalating regional tensions, citing Chinese warplanes crossing the Taiwan Strait’s median line and joint China-Russia military activities breaching South Korea’s air defense identification zone (KADIZ) over the past two days. A total of 30 Chinese warplanes crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait on Thursday and Friday, entering Taiwan’s northern and southwestern airspace in coordination with 15 naval vessels and three high-altitude balloons, the MAC said in a statement. The Chinese military also carried out another “joint combat readiness patrol” targeting Taiwan on Thursday evening, the MAC said. On
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday confirmed that Chinese students visiting Taiwan at the invitation of the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation were almost all affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). During yesterday’s meeting convened by the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) asked whether the visit was a way to spread China’s so-called “united front” rhetoric, to which MAC Deputy Ministry Shen You-chung (沈有忠) responded with the CCP comment. The MAC noticed that the Chinese individuals visiting Taiwan, including those in sports, education, or religion, have had increasingly impressive backgrounds, demonstrating that the
MILITARY EXERCISES: China is expected to conduct more drills in the region after President William Lai’s office announced he would stopover in Hawaii and Guam China is likely to launch military drills in the coming days near Taiwan, using President William Lai’s (賴清德) upcoming trip to the Pacific and scheduled US transit as a pretext, regional security officials said. Lai is to begin a visit to Taipei’s three diplomatic allies in the Pacific on Saturday, and sources told Reuters he was planning stops in Hawaii and the US territory of Guam in a sensitive trip shortly after the US presidential election. Lai’s office has yet to confirm details of what are officially “stop-overs” in the US, but is expected to do so shortly before he departs, sources
Tasa Meng Corp (采盟), which runs Taiwan Duty Free, could be fined up to NT$1 million (US$30,737) after the owner and employees took center stage in a photograph with government officials and the returning Premier12 baseball champions at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Monday evening. When Taiwan’s national baseball team arrived home fresh from their World Baseball Softball Confederation Premier12 championship victory in Tokyo, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) was at the airport with Chinese Professional Baseball League commissioner Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) to welcome back the team. However, after Hsiao and Tsai took a photograph with the team, Tasa Meng chairwoman Ku
RSS