Taiwan on Monday said it detected a Chinese balloon in waters northwest of the island, the first time since April. It comes as Beijing continues to pressure Taipei over its claims of sovereignty over the self-governed island.
China under the Communist Party considers democratic Taiwan as its territory and has not renounced the use of force to gain control. To apply military pressure, Beijing regularly dispatches fighter jets, drones, and warships around Taiwan, along with occasional balloon surveillance.
The balloon was first detected at 6:21 PM local time (1021 GMT) Sunday about 111 kilometers (69 miles) northwest of Keelung City at an altitude of 33,000 feet (10,058 meters). The balloon had flown into the island’s air defense identification zone before it disappeared at 8:15 PM, Taiwan’s defense ministry said.
Aside from the tracking of the balloon, the ministry of defense also announced that within a 24-hour period leading up to 6:00 AM Monday, 12 Chinese military aircraft and seven naval ships were detected around Taiwan.
As Taiwan prepares for its January presidential election, balloons have increasingly crossed sensitive waters separating Taiwan and China, with some even floating above the island. Taiwanese officials have called the balloons a type of “grey zone” harassment—a tactic that stops short of an outright military incursion.
China has also in the past denied any claims of surveillance through balloons, saying it is Taiwan that aims to escalate tensions. The issue of Chinese balloons had significant political attention earlier this year when the United States shot down what it called a spy balloon that flew over key military sites. China insisted the balloon was a civilian airship that had accidentally gone off course.
