Taiwan has seen “dozens” of Chinese spy balloons enter its airspace during recent years, with the latest just a few weeks ago, according to a new report from the Financial Times.
The report marks the first time Taiwan has acknowledged such a large incursion into its territory and cites an unnamed senior Taiwanese official.
“Previously, Taiwan’s defense ministry had only confirmed one incident in February last year, in which multiple Chinese balloons in four batches loitered over the north of the country,” the new report from the Financial Times explains.
The spy balloons over Taiwan are suspected to be the kinds of reconnaissance necessary for a full-scale invasion of the country, something Beijing has threatened on various occasions because it believes Taiwan is rightfully Chinese territory.
Taiwan has been operating independently of the Chinese mainland since 1949.
The Financial Times reports that experts believe the balloons seen over Taiwan were developed by the Equipment Development Department, which develops weapons under China’s Central Military Commission.
News of the incursions by China come as Taiwan’s ally, the United States, has been taken over with UFO mania in recent weeks. »
