Taiwan finds a Chinese balloon on its northern island
Taiwan's Defense Ministry said on Friday that it had found a Chinese balloon within its borders. It is claimed that the balloon was sent to spy on Taiwan, a US ally.
Taiwan's Ministry of Defense reported that a Chinese balloon was found on the northern island.
The balloon carried equipment registered with a state-owned electronics company in the northern city of Taiyuan, a statement released on Thursday said.
These balloons have been found by the USA before. The US argues that such ships were sent around the world to spy on Washington and its allies.
WHY TAIWAN
In 1949, after the civil war, China and Taiwan separated. Taiwan retained control of the islands.
China regularly sends military aircraft and warships to Taiwan. This situation pushes Taiwan to buy weapons from the USA.
Currently, Taiwan is one of the military and diplomatic allies of the United States. That's why China is trying to take measures against Taiwan as well. The first of these measures is to observe Taiwan, a US ally.
‘SHARPER RULES’ FOR UNKNOWN OBJECTS
On Thursday, President Joe Biden said the U.S. is developing “sharper rules” to track, monitor and potentially shoot down unknown aerial objects, following three weeks of high-stakes drama sparked by the discovery of a suspected Chinese spy balloon transiting much of the country.
Biden has directed national security adviser Jake Sullivan to lead an “interagency team” to review U.S. procedures after the U.S. shot down the Chinese balloon, as well as three other objects that Biden said the U.S. now believes were most likely “benign” objects launched by private companies or research institutions.
While not expressing regret for downing the three still-unidentified objects, Biden said he hoped the new rules would help “distinguish between those that are likely to pose safety and security risks that necessitate action and those that do not.”
(AP News)
