Taiwan reports 17 ‘airborne balloons’ approaching from mainland China in run-up to election
- Floating objects seen crossing Taiwan Strait median line since December, with increased activity since New Year’s Day, according to Taipei
- Taiwanese defence ministry says drones and balloons are part of Beijing’s ‘grey-zone’ tactics and ‘cognitive warfare’ to influence morale
Since New Year’s Day, balloons have crossed the median line daily, with some floating above the island, according to the ministry. The data for Friday is not yet available.
The first balloon was reported on December 7. The Taiwanese defence ministry identified the objects as weather balloons until Tuesday, when it started describing them as “airborne balloons”.
Grey-zone warfare refers to strategies short of armed conflict that can leverage economic power and information to influence the policy and behaviour of an adversary.
Taiwanese defence ministry spokesman Major General Sun Li-fang told a news conference on December 26 that the Communist Party “combines its misinformation and disinformation with military action”. He made the remarks when commenting on the balloons, implying that they were related to the PLA.
The Taiwanese government has accused Beijing of interfering in the election, in which as many as 19.5 million voters will choose their next president, vice-president and lawmakers.
Senior Beijing officials, including Taiwan Affairs Office director Song Tao, have told the Taiwanese people to “stand on the right side of history” and push for the reunification of China.
Fallout from Taiwan elections may ‘heighten risk of US-China missteps’
Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. Most countries, including the US, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the self-governed island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons.
Taiwan’s defence ministry did not respond to questions on Friday about whether the balloons were released by the PLA or whether it was withholding information about balloons from mainland China detected before December.
It also did not respond to a question asking if Taipei believed the balloons were intended to interfere with the January 13 elections.
Lu Li-shih, a former instructor at Taiwan’s naval academy, said balloons had appeared over Taiwan before, but the government chose not to disclose this in its daily military activity report until December.
Cheng Ming-dean, Taiwan’s former director of weather, told Taiwanese media in February that balloons were spotted in 2021 and 2022. The Financial Times also cited unnamed people who said Chinese military balloons flew over Taiwan once a month on average.
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When asked about the incidents on Thursday, White House spokesman John Kirby declined to comment but urged others not to interfere with the elections.
Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office did not respond to a fax requesting comment on Friday.
A balloon from mainland China was detected over the US in February, which delayed a push to warm US-China relations in the first half of 2023. Washington said the balloon was used for espionage and shot it down. Beijing said it was a weather balloon that accidentally went astray due to forces out of its control.
There is no evidence suggesting that the balloons over Taiwan were related to the balloon incident involving the US.
