A high-altitude balloon launched from China's east coast on New Year's Day cut across central Taiwan by flying directly through the island's national airspace, Taipei said on Tuesday.
A map published by Taiwan's Defense Ministry showed the approximate flight paths of two craft, which were launched into the Taiwan Strait, heading in a northeasterly direction, before disappearing either side of midnight on January 1.
The Communist Party leadership in Beijing claims Taiwan is part of historic Chinese territory and is to be unified with the mainland, despite Taipei's objections.
Taiwan began to disclose its detection of nearby Chinese balloons only last month, a decision made in the interest of transparency, a defense spokesperson told Newsweek at the time.
Taiwan believes the balloons are primarily weather-monitoring devices but it is unclear whether any of the craft are steerable. And until Monday, none had been reported overflying Taiwanese airspace, a sensitive threshold that could potentially trigger a military response.
Reached by Newsweek on Tuesday, Taiwan's Defense Ministry said its response to unidentified objects in the island's airspace is determined by their "level of threat." Taipei continues to monitor the balloons to identify any functions beyond the meteorological, a spokesperson said.
The unit launching the balloons from China—whether military or civilian—was not disclosed.
The Chinese Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to separate written requests for comment.
With high-altitude surveillance work now largely conducted by satellites, experts say the balloons may be collecting meteorological and geographical data around Taiwan that could one day aid a military campaign against the island by Beijing's forces.
Taiwan's Defense Ministry said the latest balloons were detected at 30,000 feet and 32,000 feet, respectively, roughly the cruising altitude of a commercial airliner.
The devices are now an additional data point in Taiwan's daily sea and airspace reports, which already track the movements of China's naval vessels, warplanes and military drones.
Taipei's report on Tuesday, which covers the 24 hours up to 6 a.m. local time, said four People's Liberation Army aircraft and three PLAN Navy warships had also been operating around the island.
China has yet to acknowledge the high-altitude balloons reported by Taiwan, which appear to be different in nature from a dirigible airship that made the headlines after it overflew the continental United States in February 2023.
This was shot down off the South Carolina coast by an F-22 fighter aircraft and the Defense Department said it was carrying sensitive intelligence-gathering equipment.
At the time, the balloon was flying at between 60,000 and 65,000 feet, the Pentagon said. Beijing insists it was an errant civilian meteorological device that had been pushed into American airspace by air currents.
Taiwan has accused China of employing political influence and military intimidation to achieve its objectives. In just over 10 days, Taiwanese are due to vote in presidential and legislative elections.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping, in his New Year's address, described a political union between Taiwan and the mainland as a "historical inevitability."
Update 1/2/24, 08:55 a.m. ET: This article was updated with a statement from Taiwan's Defense Ministry.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
John Feng is Newsweek's contributing editor for Asia based in Taichung, Taiwan. His focus is on East Asian politics. He ... Read more
