Taiwan says crashed balloon was used for climate monitoring after evaluation

The crashed balloon was outfitted with an antenna, temperature and humidity sensing gear, a knowledge transmitter board and a lithium battery, a ministry assertion mentioned.

New Delhi,UPDATED: Feb 19, 2023 12:15 IST

Soldiers march previous an indication of the Taiwan flag on Dongyin island of Matsu archipelago in Taiwan (Photo: Reuters/File)

By Reuters:

A balloon that got here down on a distant Taiwanese-held islet near China’s coast was used for climate monitoring and had no audio-visual recording gear on board, Taiwan’s Defence Ministry mentioned on Saturday after analysing the stays.

Taiwan, which China claims as its personal territory, has complained of elevated harassment by Beijing’s armed forces over the previous three years, together with fighter jets flying close to the island and drones buzzing near offshore islets.

Taiwan mentioned on Thursday that its forces on Dongyin island, a part of the Taiwan-controlled Matsu archipelago off the coast of the Chinese metropolis of Fuzhou, had discovered the stays of a balloon after observing an object falling from the sky. They mentioned it was most certainly Chinese.

The Defence Ministry mentioned that after analysing and evaluating the stays, it had decided that the balloon was carrying meteorological recording devices “without photographic or recording audio-visual or storage-related devices”.

It was outfitted with an antenna, temperature and humidity sensing gear, a knowledge transmitter board and lithium battery, a ministry assertion mentioned.

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According to statistics it has assembled, the ministry mentioned “floating balloons” across the Taiwan Strait lately have principally been seen between December and February, in keeping with the prevailing wind course.

The ministry mentioned on Tuesday it had not noticed any surveillance balloons from China in its neighborhood, as a dispute between China and the United States over spy balloons triggers worries about rising army tensions.

Dongyin sits in a strategic place on the high of the Taiwan Strait and the island is nicely defended.

Last yr, Taiwan mentioned a small, propeller-driven Chinese plane flew very near Dongyin in what the federal government mentioned it suspected was China deploying a civilian plane to check the responses of the Taiwanese army.

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Published On:

Feb 19, 2023