Taiwan’s defence ministry reported three more Chinese balloons flying across the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, with one of them flying over the island for the second day in a row.
The possibility of China using balloons for spying became a global concern in February 2023, when the US shot down what it claimed was a Chinese surveillance balloon.
According to China, the balloon was a civilian craft that had gone awry.
Taiwan is on high alert for Chinese military and political activities ahead of the presidential and parliamentary elections on January 13.
As per reports, China is using military and economic pressure to meddle in the elections.
China considers the island to be its territory, which Taiwan’s government denies.
Since last month, Taiwan’s defence ministry has recorded several incidents of Chinese balloons hovering over the critical Taiwan Strait, then entering airspace to the island’s north before vanishing.
However, it has reported two back-to-back cases of balloons crossing the island.
In its daily assessment of Chinese military activities over the previous 24 hours, the Ministry of Defence announced on Thursday that three Chinese balloons had flown over the strait, one of which went over the centre of Taiwan island before vanishing.
The northern balloon was sighted 45 nautical miles (83 km) north of Hsinchu, a city with a Taiwanese Air Force base facility, while the other two flew just north of the Penghu islands, which also have an air base.
However, according to a map provided by the ministry, there was only a balloon flying above Taiwan island.
The ministry, which has previously stated that it believed the balloons were largely used for weather monitoring, has refused to comment on what the recent balloons may have been used for.
The Chinese defence ministry did not reply quickly to a request for comment. It refused to comment on the balloons last week.
China has increased military activity around Taiwan in the last four years and Chinese fighter planes and warships now regularly operate in the Taiwan Strait.
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