Taiwan’s military said on Thursday it had found the remains of a crashed weather balloon believed to be from China on a remote and strategically located island off the Chinese coast, amid a dispute between China and the US over spy balloons.
Taiwan, claimed by China as its territory, has over the past three years complained of increased harassment by Beijing’s armed forces, including fighter jets flying near the island and drones close to offshore islands.
Taiwan’s military said late Thursday on Dongyin Island, part of the Taiwan-controlled Matsu Islands off the coast of China’s Fuzhou, its forces saw an unidentified object fall from the sky, then found the remains of a balloon at a shooting range.
The sphere is approximately 1 meter in diameter containing an instrument box marked with simplified Chinese characters – which are used in China but not Taiwan – and the words “Taiyuan Radio No. 1 Factory Co., Ltd.”, “GTS 13 Digital Atmospheric Sound”. equipment” and “meteorological equipment”, the military said.
Taiyuan is a major city in northern China. Reuters was not immediately able to locate contacts for the factory.
In a brief statement, Taiwan’s military said, “Preliminary investigations have shown that the remains belonged to meteorological detection equipment, which have been collected by relevant departments for further evaluation.”