Dozens of Chinese Military Balloons Detected Over Taiwan in Recent Years, Reports Say

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Dozens of Chinese military surveillance balloons were detected over Taiwan over past years, media reported on Monday, citing Taiwanese officials.

The report said that the number is much bigger now than it was in a previous period, raising concerns over possible Chinese attack on the island. The Taiwanese Defense Ministry has earlier confirmed only one incident with alleged spy balloons, which took place in February 2022, according to the newspaper.

“They come very frequently, the last one just a few weeks ago,” an unnamed senior Taiwanese official told the news outlet, while their colleague said that such incidents happened on average once a month.

The Taiwanese government officials also said that Chinese balloons observed in Taiwan's aerospace typically fly at about 20,000 feet, which is much lower than the altitude of the airspace detected over the United States earlier in the month.

Another unnamed Taiwanese official told the newspaper that the Chinese rocket force and air force were behind the balloons.

In early February, the United States detected an alleged Chinese surveillance balloon over the State of Montana. Beijing said that the balloon was a civilian airship engaged in scientific research and expressed regret over its unintended entry into US airspace. Later on, a US fighter shot down the balloon, and the Chinese Foreign Ministry expressed protest over Washington's actions. Other nations, including Japan and the Philippines, have also observed such balloons entering their airspace,