Taiwanese Military Intercepts 8 PLA Aircraft Crossing the Taiwan Strait; 3 Chinese Communist Balloons Disrupt Taiwan

The Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of China announced that from 6 am on February 4th to 6 am today (5th), a total of 8 incidents of aircraft crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait were detected, along with 7 ships and 3 Chinese Communist Party (CCP) floating balloons.

The CCP does not recognize the Republic of China as a sovereign independent country and outwardly claims that Taiwan is part of its territory. Almost every day this year, they have been sending aircraft and ships to provoke Taiwan, continuously increasing their red infiltration efforts in the gray zone surrounding Taiwan. President of the Republic of China, Lai Ching-te, attended the Chinese New Year gathering of the Military Retired and Discharged Personnel Counseling Committee on the 3rd. He mentioned that whoever comes to Taiwan, regardless of ethnicity, as long as they identify with this land, they are the masters of this land and the country. Together, united, we must defend the country and not allow infiltration by the CCP.

The Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of China today released the dynamics of the CCP’s activities in the airspace around the Taiwan Strait. From 6 am on the 4th to 6 am today, a total of 12 incidents of CCP aircraft (8 of which crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait into the southwest airspace) and 7 CCP ships have been detected, continuing their activities in the waters around the Taiwan Strait.

The indicated diagram of activities in the airspace around the Taiwan Strait released by the Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of China shows that the CCP’s main and support aircraft harassed the airspace in the western and southwestern parts of Taiwan, with 8 incidents of aircraft crossing the median line.

Furthermore, the Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of China stated that 3 CCP floating balloons were detected. The first was detected at 7:55 am on the 4th, northwest of Keelung at 64 nautical miles and at an altitude of 21,000 feet, disappearing at 12:05 pm; the second was detected at 10 am southwest of Keelung at 82 nautical miles and at an altitude of 20,000 feet, disappearing at 12:05 pm; and the third was detected at 3:25 pm northwest of Qingquan Hill at 84 nautical miles and at an altitude of 16,000 feet, disappearing at 4:30 pm.

The Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of China stated that the military uses aircraft, ships, and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor and respond to these activities.