Taiwan claims to have seen no Chinese surveillance balloons

Taiwan has not observed any Chinese surveillance balloons in its area, according to the island’s defense ministry on Tuesday, as a disagreement between China and the United States over spy balloons raises fears of escalating military confrontations.

The United States military shot down a Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina on February 4.

China claimed that the balloon was a civilian research vehicle that veered off course by accident, and on Monday it accused the United States of flying surveillance balloons above China. The United States disputed such a claim.

A Taiwanese military intelligence officer stated that no Chinese surveillance balloons identical to the one shot down over the United States had been spotted near the island.

Keep Reading

“The bulk of balloons near our waterways were utilized for meteorological purposes,” the officer, Major General Huang Wen-chi, stated at a routine briefing in Taipei, adding that weather balloons did not represent a substantial security concern.

He stated that the military would demolish any balloon that approached Taiwan’s territory and presented a “serious security danger”; however, no such action has been required.

He noted that the balloons discovered near Taiwan lacked directional capabilities and were thus unlikely to be deployed for spying.

The Financial Times reported this week, citing unnamed Taiwanese sources, that the island has recorded hundreds of Chinese military balloon flights in its airspace over the past several years, which is far more than was previously known.

The government refused to comment on the findings.

Beijing claims Taiwan as its own and has increased its military actions near the island in recent years, increasing concerns that it may attempt to seize control by force.

Taiwan promises to defend itself if attacked, arguing that Beijing’s claims of sovereignty are invalid since the People’s Republic of China has never administered the island.

Read: UAE’s Unending Efforts for Humanitarian Aid

Katherine S

1/4 German, 3/4 Malaysian. I write, follow and monitor closely political news happening in Malaysia, and other happening news in the ASEAN region. Newswriter for the best ASEAN news website - The Asian Affairs.

Recent Posts

V Surprises ARMY with Two Holiday Releases: A Festive Collab with Park Hyo-shin and “White Christmas” Cover

For K-pop fans, the Christmas season this year has become even more magical as several of their preferred stars reveal…

November 22, 2024

Celine Names TWS as Global Ambassadors Following Suzy Bae Announcement

After Suzy Bae's nomination as Celine's worldwide ambassador, the venerable French luxury fashion company has taken another bold step choosing…

November 22, 2024

Reddit Faces Widespread Outage, Users Turn to Workarounds Amid ‘Server Error’ Messages

Thousands of users of the well-known social network Reddit were left without access after a major outage of the website.…

November 22, 2024

Anne Hathaway Casted as ‘Verity’ in Colleen Hoover’s Book Adaptation

Anne Hathaway is slated to play the much expected film version of Colleen Hoover's best-selling book Verity in front of…

November 21, 2024

Gucci Set to Revolutionize Fashion Presentations with Unified Shows in 2025 under Sabato De Sarno’s Vision

Gucci is ready to change its presentation approach for 2025 in a radical action aimed to revolutionize the fashion industry.…

November 21, 2024

South Korea’s “Korea Discount”: Addressing the Governance Gap to Boost Market Value

As world investors wait for significant changes that might solve long-standing problems of governance and responsibility in South Korea's companies,…

November 21, 2024

This website uses cookies.

Read More