Advertisement
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
Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
As Taiwan’s general elections on January 13 draw near, the island’s defence ministry reported it had seen 17 balloons from mainland China cross the median line in the Taiwan Strait since the beginning of December.
Advertisement
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.
For decades, Beijing and Taipei tacitly agreed not to let military actions cross the median line, which separates mainland China from the self-ruled island. But since 2019, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has sent planes across the line nearly every day. Beijing has never officially recognised the line as a de facto border.
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”.
The Taiwanese defence ministry told the Post in a statement that the “Communist Party is using drones and airborne balloons as a way of grey-zone attack and intrusion”.
Advertisement
It added that Beijing was trying to “affect morale” among the Taiwanese people as part of its “cognitive warfare”.
Advertisement