The Philippine Star

Taiwan finds Chinese weather balloon

TAIPEI (AP) – Taiwan’s Defense Ministry says a Chinese weather balloon landed on one of its outlying islands, amid US accusation­s that such craft have been dispatched worldwide to spy on Washington and its allies.

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The ministry’s statement on Thursday said the balloon carried equipment registered to a state-owned electronic­s company in the northern city of Taiyuan.

The islet where it was found, Tungyin, is part of the Matsu island ground lying just off the coast of China’s Fujian province.

Taiwan maintained control of the islands after the sides split in 1949 amid civil war and they are considered a first line of defense should China make good on its threats to bring Taiwan under its control by force if necessary.

Reached by phone, a publicity officer at the company, identified in the report as Taiyuan Wireless (Radio) First Factory Ltd., said it had provided electronic­s but had not built the balloon.

The spokespers­on, who gave only his surname, Liu, said Taiyuan was among a number of companies that provided equipment to the China Meteorolog­ical Administra­tion.

The balloon was likely among those launched daily to monitor weather and was probably set off from the coastal city of Xiamen with no fixed course, he said.

Its deflation was likely a natural outcome of it having reached maximum altitude of around 30,000 meters (almost 100,000 feet), Liu said. Such balloons regularly fly over the Taiwan Strait but have only recently begun to draw attention, he said.

Informatio­n on the equipment was written in the simplified Chinese characters used on the mainland rather than the traditiona­l on Taiwan, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said.

China regularly sends military aircraft and warships into Taiwan air identifica­tion zone and across the middle line of the Taiwan Strait.

That has prompted Taiwan to boost military purchases from the US, expand domestic production of local planes, submarines and fighting ships, and extend compulsory military service for all males.

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