1 of 2 File image shows the bottom of the Chinese balloon during an American combat mission to destroy equipment in 2023. Photo: Chad Fish via AP The file image shows the bottom of the Chinese balloon during an American combat mission to destroy equipment in 2023. Photo: Chad Fish via AP
The Taiwanese government said it detected Chinese spy balloons in its airspace on Monday (8). A Elections are taking place this week on the island, which China claims as part of its territory and accuses Beijing of attempting to interfere.
According to the Taiwanese Ministry of Defense, on Sunday (7) three Chinese balloons flew across the Taiwan Strait the section of the Pacific Ocean that separates the two countries One of them even crossed the entire island.
The local government, which will hold presidential and legislative elections this Saturday (13), had already accused China last month of sending spy balloons to military bases on the island. The Democratic Progressive Party, which is currently in power and defends Taiwan's independence, is the favorite in the polls.
Taipei also accused China of invading its airspace and threatening local civil aviation “Waging a psychological war against the island population”. Beijing had not commented as of the last update of this report.
In his New Year's address, Chinese President Xi Jinping, who avoided the topic last year, said that “China's reunification with Taiwan is inevitable.” He made no mention of elections taking place on the island this week.
Last week, the Chinese government's Taiwan Affairs Office said in a statement that the median line of the Taiwan Strait an unofficial division between the two territories does not exist and that the Democratic Progressive Party is inciting a confrontation.
Taiwan is the epicenter of a tense crisis between the United States and China in recent years one of the least defined areas in the current global geopolitical scenario It is one of the most strategic for world powers.
For China, it is a rebel province that remains part of its territory. For the Taiwanese government, the island is an independent state governed by its own constitution, and for decades it was considered the Chinese government in exile.
Suspected Chinese spy balloon flies over the US
In early February 2023, the Pentagon reported that a Chinese balloon, similar in size to three buses, had been flying over states on the east coast of the United States for days. Beijing recognized that it was Chinese equipment, but claimed that it was deflected by the wind and served only scientific purposes.
Washington replied and claimed it was espionage. Days later, when the balloon reached the sea, it was shot down by US forces who claimed to have found one Information capture device in the device.
The incident put the entire US airspace on alert, which discovered three more unidentified objects in the following days, and triggered one of the worst diplomatic crises between Washington and Beijing in recent years.
2 of 2 Sailors from Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recover debris from the mysterious Chinese balloon shot down by the United States off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Photo: US Fleet Forces/US Navy via Portal Sailors from Explosive Ordnance Disposal Explosive munitions group 2 recovers debris from the mysterious Chinese balloon shot down by the United States off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Photo: US Fleet Forces/US Navy via Portal