Just before the presidential election, Taiwan reports renewed sightings of Chinese balloons: Is it weather observation or hidden espionage? The timing is delicate.
Taiwan's military again discovered several Chinese balloons on Wednesday (January 3) that partially crossed the island nation claimed by China. A total of four balloons flew over the median line, the unofficial border between the communist People's Republic and democratically ruled Taiwan, which Beijing considers a breakaway province. Three of the balloons later flew over Taiwan's main island at altitudes between 3,600 and 6,700 meters and eventually disappeared, the Taiwanese military said. The fourth balloon was spotted northwest of the island, according to a map released by Taiwan's Defense Ministry.
The country's military had already reported the appearance of two Chinese balloons on Monday; In total there have been nine sightings of Chinese balloons since the beginning of December.
China balloons over Taiwan: connection to the presidential election?
“The country's armed forces will respond appropriately to unidentified balloons entering Taiwan's airspace in accordance with the threat they pose to Taiwan's security,” Sun Li-fang, a Taiwan military spokesman, said on Wednesday. Sun did not provide any information as to whether the discovered balloons were used for espionage purposes. However, sightings in recent weeks have mostly referred to weather balloons being driven towards Taiwan by winds that typically prevail in December and January. For flight safety reasons, the balloons would be monitored, Sun said on Wednesday.
The Defense Ministry did not want to establish a connection between the balloon sightings and the Taiwanese presidential elections on January 13th. In fact, China has not yet increased military pressure in the run-up to the vote; Chinese fighter jets have penetrated Taiwan's air defense zone every day in recent weeks, but the number was no higher than in previous months.
Nevertheless, according to experts, China is trying to influence the outcome of the election, for example with disinformation campaigns on social media. China also regularly describes the ruling party's candidate, Taiwan's current vice president Lai Ching-te, as a “separatist.” Beijing. emphasizes: If Lai is elected, it would increase tensions in the Taiwan Strait. If Lai declares Taiwan independent from China, this would be tantamount to a declaration of war. Lai, on the other hand, emphasizes that Taiwan is already independent and therefore does not need to formally declare its independence.
Balloon sighting recalls 2023 incident
The latest balloon sightings bring back memories of an incident in early 2022, when a suspected Chinese spy balloon entered American airspace. The US military discovered the flying object and monitored it for several days before finally shooting down the balloon off the coast of South Carolina. At the time, China claimed it was a weather balloon, while the USA spoke of a spy balloon. The incident caused significant diplomatic tensions between Washington and Beijing.
#Taiwan #discovers #suspicious #Chinese #balloons
