Taiwan's defense ministry reported detecting a Chinese balloon off its northern coast on Monday, marking the first such sighting in six months. The incident is seen as part of Beijing's ongoing efforts to pressure Taiwan ahead of its presidential election.
Taiwan's defence ministry reported on Monday that a Chinese balloon was spotted over the sea to the north of Taiwan, marking the first such incident since April. Taiwan views this as part of Beijing's ongoing harassment campaign. In the lead-up to Taiwan's presidential election in January, Taipei expressed concerns about the unprecedented scale of Chinese balloon activity, calling it a tactic of "grey-zone warfare" meant to wear down opponents through irregular means rather than open conflict.
China claims Taiwan as its territory, but Taiwan firmly rejects this, stating that only its people can decide the island's future.
According to Taiwan's defence update, the balloon was detected on Sunday at 6:21 p.m. (1021 GMT) about 60 nautical miles (111 km) north of Keelung port. The balloon disappeared roughly two hours later after flying at an altitude of 33,000 feet (10,000 meters), without crossing Taiwan’s airspace.
China’s defence ministry did not comment on the incident. Previously, Beijing has downplayed Taiwan's concerns about the balloons, claiming they were used for meteorological purposes and shouldn't be politicized. The issue gained global attention last year when the United States shot down a Chinese balloon it said was being used for surveillance. China, however, insisted the balloon was a civilian craft that had drifted off course.
Georgia is positioning itself as a future energy bridge between the Caspian and Europe, backed by major infrastruc...
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has called for deeper solidarity among Turkic states amid rising geopolitical tensions and rapid technologi...
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev is participating in the informal summit of the ...
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran has “no trust” in the United States and will only consider negotiations if Was...
Uzbekistan’s Department for Combating Economic Crimes says it has uncovered a ...
U.S. President Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping are set to meet on Friday (15 May) to wrap up a two-day state visit that has featured pomp and business deals but also a warning from Xi that mishandling the Taiwan issue could send relations spiraling.
U.S. President Donald Trump will meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing next week on a two-day visit, his first trip to China in eight years. Delayed for two months by the Iran conflict, Taiwan, industrial matters, and the Strait of Hormuz are likely to dominate the talks.
China has warned the U.S. that Taiwan will dominate next month’s summit in Beijing, raising pressure on Washington and concern in Taipei over any shift in long-standing American policy.
Taiwan’s defence minister has downplayed the impact of new Chinese sanctions on seven European firms, saying they will not disrupt the island’s access to weapons.
The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran loomed over U.S. President Donald Trump's visit to China, as signs emerged that the conflict is causing a shift in alliances across the Middle East.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran has “no trust” in the United States and will only consider negotiations if Washington shows seriousness. His remarks came as talks on Iran’s nuclear programme continued, with Trump and Xi also opposing Iran acquiring nuclear weapons.
When Donald Trump boarded Air Force One for Beijing on Tuesday, he brought two cabinet members whose presence in China would have seemed unlikely a year ago, highlighting an unusual moment in U.S.–China relations.
The Eurovision Song Contest opened in Vienna on Tuesday amid heightened political tensions, as Israel competed in the first semi-final despite a boycott by five European broadcasters over the war in Gaza.
The Spanish government has issued a defiant message to Silicon Valley, confirming it will push ahead with stringent new legislation designed to make social networks and Artificial Intelligence (AI) demonstrably safer.
China has launched the world’s first experiment to study how artificial human embryos develop in space, marking a major step in understanding whether humans could one day reproduce beyond Earth.
Every day, an elderly woman in China’s Shandong province looks forward to a video call from her son. He asks about her health, tells her he has been busy with work, and promises he will come home once he has saved enough money. She tells him she misses him. He tells her to take care of herself.
Deep in the ancient forests of southern China, researchers have discovered a small, shy snake with an extraordinary survival trick: when threatened, it creates the illusion that it has two heads.
A U.S. Department of Justice official said Washington was preparing to indict former Cuban president Raúl Castro in connection with the 1996 downing of aircraft operated by "Brothers to the Rescue", a Miami-based exile group that conducted search-and-rescue flights for Cuban migrants.
Australian citizens evacuated from a Dutch-flagged cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak have returned home after two weeks overseas. The passengers will now undergo quarantine and further testing in Western Australia.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment