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Taiwan's defence ministry has spotted a Chinese balloon over the waters northwest of the island after China's ongoing military pressure on Taiwan.
According to the Voice of America, it was the first such incident since April. The balloon was spotted on Sunday. approximately 111 kilometres from Keelung City, reaching an altitude of 10,058 meters. It entered Taiwan's Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ) before disappearing at 8:15 pm (local time), as reported by Taiwan's defence ministry. Earlier, Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND) detected a rapid increase in military activity of China around the island. The ministry spotted 12 People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, and seven PLAN vessels operating around the island in the 24 hours leading up to 6 am. The Chinese military presence on the island remains a point of contention as Beijing continues its pressure on Taiwan, which it claims sovereignty over. Earlier, during Taiwan's presidential elections in January, the balloons were spotted around the sensitive waters separating Taiwan and China, the VOA reported. The VOA has reported that Taiwan has described the Chinese balloons as a form of "grey zone" harassment -- a strategy designed to undermine Taiwan's security without crossing the threshold of outright military conflict. The authorities in Taiwan view such balloons as part of Beijing's strategy of coercion aimed at pressuring Taiwan to accept Chinese claims of sovereignty. But on the other hand, China denied all the allegations and accused Taiwan of creating chaos in the region. The issue of Chinese balloons became a topic of concern when a high-altitude balloon, later confirmed to be from China, was shot down by the United States in early 2023. The United States claimed it was a spy balloon after it was spotted around sensitive US sites. In recent times, Chinese military aggression has increased near the island due to which Taiwan has maintained tight security around the borders. (ANI)
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