Of the six Chinese balloons, one flew over Taiwan and all were detected on January 21 at altitudes between 4,500 and 5,100 meters, according to Taiwan's Defense Ministry.
This is the largest number of Chinese balloons detected since Taiwan's Defense Ministry began regularly releasing balloon sighting data in December 2023, according to AFP.
This month, Taiwan's Defense Ministry accused China of threatening aviation safety, days before Taiwan's presidential and parliamentary elections on January 13.
China's Defense Ministry declined to comment last month on the balloons flying around Taiwan and has yet to respond to the information about the six balloons, according to Reuters.
In recent years, China has increased its deployment of fighter jets and naval vessels around Taiwan almost daily. Beijing has repeatedly stressed that Taiwan is part of China.
Chinese fighter jets during an exercise
Chinamil.com screenshot
Taiwan's Defense Ministry said it detected 24 Chinese military aircraft around Taiwan, of which 11 crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait on January 18.
The largest number of military aircraft deployed by China near Taiwan within 24 hours was in September 2023, when Taiwan detected 103 Chinese aircraft flying around the island, according to AFP.
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