(Taipei) Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday it had detected four Chinese balloons above the median line of the Taiwan Strait that separates the island from mainland China, including three flying directly over the island.
A graphic released by the ministry shows three balloons heading northeast on Tuesday, over the island, after appearing “southwest of Ching-Chuan-Kang”, which is home to a military air base in the city of Taichung, located in western Taiwan.
The lowest altitude measured for one of them was 3.6 kilometers.
Sightings of Chinese balloons in Taiwan began last month and come less than two weeks before a crucial presidential election on the island on January 13.
The ministry reported seeing balloons six times in December.
This is the second day in a row that these flying objects have been detected over Taiwan.
For conflict expert Ou Sifu of Taiwan’s National Defense and Security Research Institute, these balloons are used for “military coercion and psychological warfare.”
“The presidential election is approaching and balloons are a kind of military tool of intimidation,” he told AFP.
In recent years, China has intensified its military and political pressure on Taiwan, which it claims as part of its territory.
Beijing has sent unprecedented numbers of fighter jets and warships around the island, seeking, experts say, to intimidate the Taiwanese military.
Beijing has refused to engage with current President Tsai Ing-wen during her term in office because she does not recognize China’s claims to Taiwan.
His deputy, Vice President Lai Ching-te, who presents himself as “a pragmatic worker in favor of Taiwan’s independence”, is favorite for the January 13 elections. Beijing called him a “troublemaker” and a “separatist.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping said in his New Year speech on Sunday that China will “surely be reunified.”