Taiwan reports more suspected Chinese weather balloons crossing Taiwan Strait

Two suspected Chinese weather balloons sailed across the sensitive Taiwan Strait on Sunday but stayed well to the north of Taiwan, the island’s military minister said on Monday, the second occurrence this month.

The possibility of China using balloons for eavesdropping became a global concern in February, when the US shot down what it claimed was a Chinese surveillance balloon, but China claimed was a civilian craft that had gone astray.

Taiwan is on high alert for Chinese military and political actions ahead of the presidential and legislative elections on January 13. Taipei has warned of Beijing’s efforts to sway voters’ votes in favour of candidates China may choose.

Taiwan’s defence ministry said the two balloons were detected at 9:03 a.m. (0103GMT) and 2:43 p.m. (0643) after crossing the strait’s median 110 nautical miles (204 km) northwest of the northern Taiwanese port city of Keelung.

The balloons flew at an altitude of about 27,000 feet (3,230 metres), headed east and disappeared at 9:36 a.m. and 4:35 p.m., respectively, the ministry added.

The ministry’s initial judgement is that they were weather balloons, spokesperson Sun Li-fang said.

China’s defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The earlier balloon, which Taiwan reported crossing the Taiwan Strait on 7 December, was most likely also a weather platform, Taiwan’s defence ministry said at the time, adding that officials had announced its detection in the interests of transparency.