The military should enhance its response to China’s “gray zone” operations near Taiwan, and consider shooting down Chinese balloons over the ocean, Taiwanese researchers said on Saturday.
Several Chinese balloons have been detected in Taiwanese airspace in the past few weeks, in what some say is part of Beijing’s gray zone tactics, which also include incursions by military aircraft, warships and drones, Institute for National Policy Research senior consultant Chen Wen-jia (陳文甲) said.
“Intelligence and surveillance capabilities should be enhanced, and a set of corresponding standard operating procedures formulated as soon as possible,” he said.
Photo: AFP / Chase Doak
“It costs China comparatively little to send balloons into Taiwanese airspace, and we should remain highly vigilant in the face of these incursions,” he said.
Thirty-two balloons were detected crossing the Taiwan Strait from China from Jan. 1 to Jan. 13, the day of Taiwan’s presidential and legislative elections, Ministry of National Defense data showed.
Thirteen of those balloons passed over Taiwan proper.
From Jan. 14 to Friday, 22 balloons were detected, three of which passed over Taiwan proper, the data showed.
Shu Hsiao-huang (舒孝煌), a researcher at the government-funded think tank Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said in an interview that China is using seasonal winds to harass Taiwan with balloons.
The current sea conditions around the Taiwan Strait make it difficult for China to conduct drills with warships, but they are ideal for balloons, Shu said.
Balloons are a particular nuisance because they cannot be shot down over land without risking injury or damage to personal property, he said, adding that the military might shoot them down over the sea to collect material for intelligence analysis.
“China failed in its attempts to influence Taiwanese voters during the election, but this has not stopped it from persisting with these gray zone tactics,” Chen said.
China uses the balloons to collect information on atmospheric data over Taiwan, as well as Taiwan’s military deployments on the ground, which would help it prepare for launching rockets and missiles, he said.
“It is also testing Taiwan’s air defense capabilities and response. This information would be used in a possible joint operation by China’s military to invade Taiwan,” he said, adding that the government should maintain a high degree of vigilance against the incursions. “We need to devise a set of standard operating procedures as soon as possible, to be ready to respond to such incursions.”
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