Chinese Balloon News: Taiwan’s defense ministry says a Chinese weather balloon landed on one of its outlying islands, amid US allegations that such craft have been sent around the world to spy on Washington and its allies.
The ministry statement on Thursday (16 February) said the balloons contained equipment registered to a state-owned electronics company in the northern city of Taiyuan.
The island where it was found, Tungyin, is part of the Matsu Island Plain off the coast of Fujian Province, China.
Taiwan retained control of the islands after the two sides split amid a civil war in 1949, and are considered the first line of defense should China make good on its threats to bring Taiwan under its control by force if necessary. Is.
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Calls and messages sent to Taiyuan Wireless (Radio) First Factory Ltd., a company identified in the report, went unanswered. The ministry said the information on the devices was written in simplified Chinese characters used on the mainland instead of the traditional ones on Taiwan.
China regularly sends military aircraft and warships into the Taiwan air identification zone and across the center line of the Taiwan Strait. This has prompted Taiwan to boost military purchases from the US, expand domestic production of local aircraft, submarines and warships, and extend compulsory military service to all men.
Washington is Taiwan’s closest military and diplomatic ally despite the lack of formal ties, which were broken in 1979. Beijing strongly opposes all contact between the island and the US, but its aggressive diplomacy has helped build strong bipartisan support for Taipei on Capitol Hill. ,
On Thursday, President Joe Biden said the US is developing “fast rules” to track, monitor and potentially shoot down unidentified aerial objects, following three weeks of high-stakes drama over a suspected Chinese spy balloon. The discovery spread to most parts of the country. ,
Biden has directed National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan to lead an “interagency team” to review US procedures after the US shot down the Chinese balloon, as well as three other items that Biden said the US Now believes that it was most likely launched by “benign” objects. Private companies or research institutes.
Biden did not express regret for downgrading the three still-unidentified items, saying he hoped the new rules would help “differentiate between those that are likely to pose a security risk and those that require action.” And those who don’t.”
(with inputs from agencies)