In December 2023, Taipei reported for the first time the presence of Chinese aerostatic balloons on its side of the Taiwan Strait dividing line, an unofficial line that separates the two banks and whose crossing is considered a military provocation.
Two aerostatic balloons launched by China crossed the center of Taiwan from west to east on Thursday, after crossing the middle line of the Strait, the Taiwanese Ministry of National Defense reported this Friday.
According to the Defense’s daily statement, the balloons were detected between 9:20 pm on Thursday and 00:50 on Friday (between 1:20 pm and 4:50 pm on Thursday, in Lisbon), at altitudes between 14,630 and 15,240 meters.
The devices were initially identified 250 and 288.9 kilometers southwest of the city of Taichung and continued on an eastward trajectory, crossing the center of the island until they disappeared over the eastern coast, within Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ).
Since then, Taiwan has detected more than 190 balloons launched from China, which, according to local authorities, are part of the so-called “gray zone” tactics – actions below the threshold of open conflict – used by Beijing to intimidate the population and pressure the Government of President William Lai.
Beijing considers Taiwan an “inalienable part” of its territory and does not exclude the use of force to achieve “reunification”, an objective on Chinese President Xi Jinping’s political agenda since he came to power in 2012.
Military and diplomatic pressure on the island has intensified in recent years, with Chinese military exercises frequently held near the territory and the cutting of diplomatic ties with countries allied with Taipei, under the influence of Beijing.
The Government of Taiwan claims that the island is, in practice, an independent country and that only its 23 million inhabitants have the right to decide the political future of the territory.
