The Defense Ministry announced that a Chinese military aircraft was detected entering Taiwan’s southwest air defense identification zone (ADIZ) in a statement released on Monday. Three Chinese balloons also crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait.
The ministry said that Chinese military activities were monitored from Sunday 6 a.m. to Monday 6 a.m. of which a total of nine Chinese military aircraft, four naval vessels and three balloons were detected around Taiwan.
The ministry added that the Chinese balloons were observed on Sunday at 11:54 a.m., 12:35 p.m., and 8:45 p.m. after crossing the Taiwan Strait median line. The balloons were flying 103 nautical miles west of Keelung at an altitude of approximately 18,000 feet, 85 nautical miles northwest of Keelung at 24,000 feet and 114 miles west of Pingtung at 23,000 feet respectively. The balloons were monitored to be moving eastward until they “disappeared” at 12:30 p.m. and 02:55 p.m. Sunday and 00:21 a.m. Monday.
The ministry stated that air and naval patrols were deployed together with land-based missile systems to respond to the activities appropriately.