China’s recent use of balloons indicates a shift to “complex” joint military operations that Taiwan must take seriously, a former army general said yesterday, as the Ministry of National Defense spotted Chinese balloons floating over Taiwan proper for the third consecutive day.
Writing in a newsletter published by the Institute of National Defense and Security Research, retired army major general Ko Yung-sen (柯永森) said that balloons have joined aircraft and ships in Beijing’s military harassment of Taiwan.
China’s joint deployment of systems ranging from spy satellites, balloons, drones, fighter jets, warships and submarines suggests it has achieved the transition to a “multi-domain, full-spectrum model of military operations,” he said.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of National Defense
The ministry is urged to account for the increase of Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) operational capabilities in its force design and strategic plans, especially as the nation confronts an aging crisis on top of pressing military needs, Ko said.
Already the Chinese military has incorporated the operational model in its ongoing campaign to ratchet up military pressure on Taiwan, which appears to take aim at influencing the elections on Saturday next week, he said.
The ministry on Dec. 8 last year detected a balloon 101 nautical miles (187.052km) southwest of Keelung at an altitude of 6,400.8m, moving east toward Taiwan, Ko said.
Although Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) said that the balloon was likely a weather observation unit that drifted off course after being caught in winds, its appearance coincided with the movements of PLA aircraft and warships that day, he said.
China sent the aircraft carrier Shandong into the Taiwan Strait on Dec. 11, the day presidential candidates drew lots for placement on the ballot, Ko said.
On Dec. 17, the ministry spotted two balloons crossing the Taiwan Strait’s median line from a point 110 nautical miles to the northwest of Keelung at an altitude of 8,229.6m, he said.
On Dec. 17 it spotted two balloons 110 nautical miles from Keelung at less than 8,229.6m, later crossing the Taiwan Strait’s median line, Ko said.
A day later, it detected a balloon 67 nautical miles northwest of Keelung at an altitude of 4,572m, which also crossed the median line, he said.
The balloon sightings occurred in synch with PLA aircraft, drones and ships conducting movements over and around Taiwan proper, while their loiter time steadily increased from 30 minutes to 2.45 hours, he said.
These incidents were part of Beijing’s “gray zone” operations conducted to normalize Chinese territorial claims over the Strait’s waters and reduce the threat awareness of Taiwanese, Ko said.
Separately, the ministry said that at least one Chinese balloon floated across Taiwan proper for the third day in a row.
Three Chinese balloons, six aircraft and six ships crossed the median line of the Strait, with one balloon traversing nearly across the width of Taiwan and one following a similar trajectory before disappearing, the ministry said.
The balloon’s flight path as indicated by the ministry meant that it flew in the airspace over the Ching Chuan Kang Air Base in Taichung.
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