In a recent publication by Taiwan’s defense department, it has been reported that Chinese military balloons were spotted nearing the island on December 18th. According to the Taiwanese Armed Forces, the Chinese balloon crossed the so-called “middle line” of the Taiwan Strait at 9:09 am local time, approximately 67 nautical miles (124 km) northwest of the city of Jilong. The balloon was reported to be flying at an altitude of about 4.5 km to the east.
This marks the third Chinese balloon approach recorded by Taiwanese military since December 17th.
Earlier reports revealed that a Chinese balloon, which flew over US territory in early 2023, was equipped with American data collection equipment. Several Chinese weather observation balloons, which had lost control, became a subject of discussion between the US and China. Washington claimed that the balloons were equipped with spying devices, while Beijing denied this information. On February 4th, 2023, one such balloon was destroyed by the US Air Force, leading to a protest from China.
Previously, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that the United States and China should leave behind the incident involving the downed Chinese balloon and move forward.
