Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) reported on Friday that a balloon from China crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait on Thursday, though they later on Friday clarified it was probably a weather balloon. Meanwhile, a U.S. Navy littoral combat ship carried out drills with the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) in the South China Sea from Wednesday to Thursday.
On Friday, as part of its daily release on nearby Chinese military activities, Taiwan’s MND reported that at 11.52 a.m. on Thursday, a Chinese balloon was detected crossing the median line in a location 101 nautical miles southwest of Keelung, Taiwan, at an altitude of approximately 21,000 feet. The balloon headed east and disappeared at 12.55 p.m., stated the MND release. Later, while speaking to reporters at Parliament, Taiwan Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said the balloon was probably a weather balloon.
The balloon’s sighting comes a month before Taiwan’s presidential election. China has been conducting sea and air movements around Taiwan, though the aircraft numbers have been low compared to Sept. 18, when 103 aircraft operated around Taiwan during a 24 hour period. Friday’s report stated that from 6 a.m. Thursday to 6 a.m. Friday, 26 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft and 10 People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) aircraft were detected operating around Taiwan, with 15 of the aircraft crossing the median line or entering Taiwan’s southwest Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ). The aircraft consisted of one BZK-005 reconnaissance UAV, four Su-30 and eight J-10 fighters, one Y-9 surveillance aircraft and KJ-500 Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) aircraft.
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