Chinese Weather Balloon Crosses Taiwan Strait Median Line Ahead of Presidential Election

Taiwan’s defense ministry reported on Friday that a Chinese weather balloon crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait on Thursday, approximately a month before the island’s presidential election. Taiwan Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng stated that their initial understanding is that it was a sounding balloon. Taiwan often accuses China of using military or economic pressure to influence election outcomes in favor of Beijing. The island is scheduled to hold presidential and parliamentary elections on January 13.
China has increased military pressure on Taiwan over the past four years, conducting significant war games around the island. The recent incident involved a balloon detected 101 nautical miles southwest of Keelung, traveling eastward for about an hour before disappearing. Earlier this year, a similar balloon came down on a remote Taiwanese-held islet, claimed to be used for weather monitoring with no audio-visual recording equipment.
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