TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of National Defense (MND) on Tuesday (Jan. 2) publicly disclosed information for the first time about a Chinese balloon that had flown directly over the country.
The MND said two Chinese balloons were detected at 9:31 p.m. and 10:40 p.m. on Monday (Jan. 1). The first crossed the median line about 102 km (55 nautical miles) northwest of Chiayi at an altitude of 9,144 m (30,000 ft).
The second balloon crossed the median line approximately 131 km (71 nautical miles) northwest of Keelung at an altitude of 9,754 m (32,000 ft). The balloons then headed east and disappeared at 11:43 p.m. on Monday and 12:43 a.m. on Tuesday, respectively.
This marks the first time the MND has provided information about a Chinese balloon flying over Taiwan, reported UDN. Previous reports of Chinese weather and spy balloons flying over Taiwan were generally revealed long after the fact with few details, such as Taiwanese officials who were cited by the Financial Times in February 2023 as saying that they appear frequently at an altitude of 6,000 m.
In addition, the MND also announced that four People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft and three naval vessels were tracked around Taiwan from 6 a.m. Monday to 6 a.m. Tuesday, including one KJ-500 early warning and control aircraft that entered the southwest sector of the air defense identification zone (ADIZ).