Summary
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry reported spotting a Chinese balloon over waters north of the island, the first such incident since April.
The balloon, seen Sunday near Keelung port, flew at 33,000 feet for two hours before disappearing. Additionally, 12 Chinese military aircraft and seven warships were detected near Taiwan.
Taipei perceives such balloons as “grey-zone” harassment, a maneuver that falls short of an act of war, as it approaches its January elections. In contrast, Beijing refutes the spying claims, asserting that they are merely meteorological devices.
Tensions persist as Taiwan accuses China of escalating pressure, amid ongoing U.S. military support for the island.
yeah it’s just constantly testing boundaries. we do the same thing. for example officially we accept the “one china” policy. our government on paper does not recognize Taiwan as an independent country, but as a part of China
but then we will do stuff like send the Secretary of State over to Taiwan, which implies a de facto independence. it’s meant to provoke China and salami slice, in a similar way with the balloons. or our navy drills over in the South China Sea, etc. basically great power geopolitics is a lot of dick swinging