Taiwanese troops detect 13 Chinese military aircraft, 5 vessels, 2 balloons near Island

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The Taiwanese armed forces have detected 13 Chinese military aircraft, five vessels and two balloons near the island nation over the past day, the Taiwanese Defense Ministry said on Saturday.

“13 PLA aircraft and 5 PLAN vessels around Taiwan were detected by 06:00 (UTC+8) today. 1 of the detected aircraft (WZ-7 UAV RECCE) had entered Taiwan’s SW ADIZ … Two PRC’s balloons were detected at 12:04 [04:04 GMT] and 13:05 [05:05 GMT] yesterday after crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait at the location 33 nautical miles northwest and 51 miles west of Hsinchu respectively,” the defense ministry said in a statement on X.

The Taiwanese troops have monitored the situation and ordered aircraft, naval and land-based units to respond to China’s activities near the island, the statement read.

“The balloons’ altitude were approximately 17,000 and 24,000 feet respectively. The balloons headed NE and sequentially disappeared at 12:57 and 15:37 yesterday,” the statement also said.

The Taiwanese Defense Ministry has accused China of creating a security threat for international navigation routes after the country’s balloons appeared near the island nation.

“It poses a serious security threat to many international navigation routes … We call for immediate cessation of such practices to ensure flight safety in the region,” the defense ministry said in a statement.

Taiwan has been governed independently from mainland China since 1949. Beijing regards the island as its province, while Taiwan maintains that it is an autonomous entity but stops short of declaring independence. Beijing opposes any official foreign contacts with Taipei and regards Chinese sovereignty over the island as indisputable.

The latest escalation around Taiwan started in April 2023 after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen met with then-US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in the United States. Beijing responded by launching massive three-day military drills near the island in what it called a warning to Taiwanese separatists and foreign powers. In August and September, the Taiwanese armed forces reported multiple sightings of Chinese naval and air patrols in the island’s vicinity. On September 18, the ministry reported a record high of 103 Chinese aircraft seen near the island in one day.(UNI)