China says balloons that have angered Taiwan are 'nothing new'

Taiwan has complained repeatedly about Chinese balloons flying over or close to the island, but China’s government has ignored these concerns, claiming the flights are for meteorological purposes and shouldn’t be politicised.

Since last month, Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has voiced complaints over the balloons that flew over the strategically important Taiwan Strait. A few of the balloons flew above the island and then disappeared.

The Chinese Ministry of Defence has refrained from commenting on the balloons thus far.

However, considering that “Taiwan compatriots have doubts,” Chen Binhua, a spokesman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, provided the longest official answer to Taiwan’s balloon complaints to yet during a routine press briefing in Beijing.

He stated that they were “not the kind of balloons that are hung for weddings and at shopping malls,” adding that the majority of balloons are released by private firms and that hundreds of thousands of them soar throughout the world every day.

“The floating balloons are mostly used for people’s livelihood purposes such as meteorological monitoring. They have a long history and are nothing new,” Chen said.

“The Democratic Progressive Party authorities are advised not to politically hype up such issues and incite cross-strait antagonism and confrontation,” he added, referring to Taiwan’s ruling party.

The potential for China to use balloons for spying became a global issue last February when the United States shot down what it said was a Chinese surveillance balloon. China said the balloon was a civilian craft that accidentally drifted astray.

Earlier this month, Taiwan’s government accused China of threatening aviation safety and waging psychological warfare on its people with the balloons, which were launched days before Taiwan’s Jan. 13 elections.

Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, saying only the island’s people can decide their future.