Eight Chinese hot air balloons crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait for the second consecutive day, of which five flew over the island, official sources reported this Sunday.
In its latest report, the Ministry of National Defense (MDN) of Taiwan reported the presence of eight hot air balloons from China at an altitude of between 3,657 and 10,668 meters, of which five flew over the northern and central regions of the island before disappear.
Of these five balloons that passed over Taiwan, a record number for one day, three crossed the island from coast to coast, while another two disappeared in island territory.
These eight Chinese balloons join another eight registered this Saturday, which marks a considerable increase in this type of incursions in the middle of the New Year holidays.
The MDN first reported the presence of a Chinese hot air balloon beyond the strait boundary on December 8.
Since then, Taiwan has detected 84 hot air balloons in the vicinity of its territory, twenty-five of which flew over the island.
Concern about hot air balloons of Chinese origin dates back to January of last year, when the appearance of one of these devices in US territory caused the suspension of the trip that Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, had planned to make to China at that time. .
For the Taiwanese Government, sending the balloons through the strait is part of the "gray zone" tactics undertaken by the Chinese Army to instill fear among the island's population.
Taiwan - where the Nationalist army withdrew after defeat at the hands of communist troops in the Chinese civil war - has been governed autonomously since 1949, although Beijing claims sovereignty over the island, which it considers a rebellious province for whose "reunification" has not ruled out the use of force.
