Taiwan's defense ministry has announced the detection of three additional Chinese balloons crossing the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday, with one of them flying over the island. This marks the second consecutive day that such activity has been reported. Concerns about China using balloons for espionage gained global attention in February 2023 when the United States shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon, which China claimed was a civilian craft that had accidentally drifted off course.
As Taiwan prepares for its presidential and parliamentary elections on January 13, it remains vigilant against Chinese military and political activities. Taiwan accuses China of exerting military and economic pressure in an attempt to interfere with the elections. China asserts its territorial claim over the island, a claim that Taiwan's government rejects.
The Taiwanese defense ministry has been reporting instances of Chinese balloons flying over the sensitive Taiwan Strait and crossing into the island's northern airspace before disappearing since the previous month. However, this week, there have been two consecutive incidents of balloons actually crossing over the island.
In its daily update on Chinese military activities in the past 24 hours, the defense ministry reported on Thursday that three Chinese balloons had once again flown over the strait, with one of them crossing directly over the center of Taiwan before disappearing. One balloon was observed 45 nautical miles north of Hsinchu, a city housing a Taiwanese air force base, while the other two flew just north of the Penghu islands, where another air base is located. However, the ministry's map only showed one balloon flying over Taiwan island.
The defense ministry, which previously believed that the balloons were primarily used for weather monitoring, declined to comment on the purpose of the latest balloons. China's defense ministry also refrained from commenting on the balloons when approached last week.
Over the past four years, China has increased its military activities around Taiwan, with Chinese fighter jets and warships frequently operating in the Taiwan Strait.
台灣發現更多中國氣球，稱其中一個飛越島嶼
台灣國防部宣布，周三檢測到三個額外的中國氣球飛越台灣海峽，其中一個飛越了島嶼上空。這是連續第二天報告此類活動。擔憂中國利用氣球進行間諜活動的問題在2023年2月引起全球關注，當時美國擊落了一個中國偵察氣球，中國聲稱該氣球是一艘意外漂移的民用飛行器。
台灣正在為1月13日的總統和議會選舉做準備，對中國的軍事和政治活動保持警惕。台灣指責中國以軍事和經濟壓力試圖干預選舉。中國主張對該島擁有領土主張，而台灣政府則否認這一主張。
自上個月以來，台灣國防部報告了幾起中國氣球飛越敏感的台灣海峽並進入島嶼北部領空後消失的情況。然而，本週已連續兩次報告了氣球實際飛越島嶼的事件。
在國防部每日更新的中國軍事活動報告中，周四報告稱，又有三個中國氣球再次飛越海峽，其中一個直接飛越台灣中心後消失。其中一個氣球被觀察到在新竹以北的45海里處，那裡有一個台灣空軍基地，另外兩個飛越澎湖群島以北，那裡還有一個空軍基地。然而，國防部的地圖只顯示一個氣球飛越台灣島。
國防部此前認為這些氣球主要用於氣象監測，拒絕對最新氣球的用途發表評論。中國國防部在上週拒絕就氣球發表評論。
過去四年，中國在台灣周圍的軍事活動有所增加，中國戰鬥機和軍艦經常在台灣海峽中運作。
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