TAIPEI.- Taiwan said on Monday that six Chinese balloons passed either over its island or through the airspace just to the north, and Chinese military planes and ships were also spotted in the area.
The launch of such balloons, which normally disappear into the Pacific to the east, appears to be increasing, although their purpose has not been publicly announced.
The Defense Ministry included the sighting in 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 others flew just north of the port of Keelung, where Taiwan has a major naval base.
It remains unclear whether the balloons have an explicit military function, but they appear to be part of a campaign of harassment against the self-ruled island, which China claims as part of its territory and has vowed to take back by force if necessary.
Ahead of Taiwan’s presidential election this month, China increased such activity and rhetorical threats, although such warnings are widely seen as counterproductive.
The pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party won a third consecutive term, this time from former Vice President Lai Ching-te, or William Lai. The Nationalist Party, which advocates unification, won only one more seat than the DPP in the legislature. On the other hand, the party of former Taipei mayor Jo Wen-je snatched votes from the two traditional parties, especially by appealing to young people fed up with the political situation.
In the United States, President Joe Bien promised early last year to tighten rules for supervising, monitoring and possibly shooting down unknown aerial objects, following a three-week saga sparked by the discovery of an alleged Chinese spy balloon that roamed much of of the United States.
Source: With information from AP
