Huang Wenqi, Assistant Deputy Chief of the Intelligence Sub-Office of Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense, responded at a regular press conference that there were issues related to the presence of Chinese air balloons in Taiwan's airspace.
The British "Financial Times" recently disclosed that Chinese military balloons invade Taiwan once a month. Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense responded on the 14th that most of the air balloons found in the airspace around the Taiwan Strait are for weather detection. So far, no targets that need to be destroyed by lethal force have been found, and no secret reconnaissance balloon similar to the one shot down by the United States in South Carolina has appeared near Taiwan.
In recent years, Taiwan has observed dozens of Chinese military balloons flying into Taiwan's airspace. The Financial Times quoted a Taiwanese official as saying, "They appear very frequently, and they only came here a few weeks ago." ".
China has never announced its renunciation of the use of force against Taiwan, and the hovering of Chinese military balloons around the Taiwan Strait has also aroused concern from all walks of life. Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense took advantage of a regular press conference on the 14th to give a complete explanation of the Chinese balloon flying to the sea and airspace around Taiwan.
"Most of the air balloons that appear in the airspace around the Taiwan Strait are used for meteorological detection." Huang Wenqi, assistant deputy director of the intelligence office of Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense, pointed out that the balloons detected by Taiwan are small in size, light in weight, and easy to fly. When it reaches a certain height, it will burst and disappear by itself. Although its material is made of rubber, its display on radar echoes is relatively weak, but it is not completely undetectable. He said, "As long as it is a balloon that flies over the area near the Taiwan Strait, the national army will use all channels and capabilities to search and search, and there will be no situation where foreign media say 'the balloon was not caught'."
As for whether the air balloon entered Taiwan's airspace at 40,000 feet? Huang Wenqi explained that what was mentioned in the report was the height rather than the range, and it was doubtful whether it entered the airspace. The balloons detected in Taiwan in the past, because of the prevailing wind from the west, "most of them were in the waters off Taiwan, not in the sky above Taiwan."
Quantity and Nature of Balloons in China
"The number of balloons is probably in line with the number of weather balloons released on the other side during the prevailing wind period." Regarding the media's question about the number of Chinese balloons detected in Taiwan in the past two years? Huang Wenqi said that the number of detections per year is not necessarily certain, but it is not convenient to disclose the number of times.
Huang Wenqi compared the difference between "detection balloons" and "air sounding balloons". Taking the balloons detected by the United States as an example, they are large in size, have certain direction control capabilities, and even propulsion capabilities, which belong to detection balloons; air sounding balloons are meteorological balloons from various countries. The behavior of the unit is periodic, because of the activity in the troposphere, the range and direction of the drift are uncertain. No matter what type of intelligence is engaged in, there must be a set of intelligence investigation routes. He said, "Balloons floating freely in the troposphere near Taiwan are difficult to do intelligence work because they cannot define targets."
"The balloons shot down by the U.S. military in South Carolina actually carried quite sophisticated equipment, but we haven't seen the Chinese Communist Party use such sophisticated surveillance balloons near Taiwan. There is a considerable difference." Huang Wenqi Supplementary explanation.
Taiwan's Disposition Principles
Taiwan's military has three clear procedures for handling balloons, including "detection, identification, and disposal."
For objects that have flown, the first thing to do is to identify the type of balloon. Huang Wenqi said that Taiwan's meteorological units and the National Army's meteorological and flight units will release balloons at regular intervals. If the Ministry of National Defense announces the balloon without identifying it, it will easily mislead the outside world. Therefore, it is necessary to confirm its nature and whether it is threatening.
"If it belongs to a balloon with a detection function, it will be dealt with by 'necessary means'." He further said, "Just like the number of balloons that appear in the United States every day, but the announcements are limited to national security. Threats. Our country (Taiwan) has a detailed disposal principle, but it is inconvenient to elaborate. In principle, our country (Taiwan) is the same as the United States for the balloons that must be disposed of. Only those who pose a threat to national security and people’s livelihood will be disposed of. "
The media asked whether the so-called disposal included shooting down? Huang Wenqi responded that so far, no targets that need to be destroyed by lethal force have been found. "If such targets are determined to be a high threat, disposal measures include shooting them down when entering or approaching territorial waters."
As for whether shooting down the balloon counts as the "first hit"? Huang Wenqi emphasized that there is a difference between balloons and the "first strike" defined by dealing with drones. Most of the balloons around the world are used for reconnaissance. They are definitely not items that pose a threat of force, but intelligence exploration. They should not be confused with acts that pose a threat of force to Taiwan. This is another way to deal with it.
"After the balloon incident, Taiwan's government-related units can also follow the so-called 'red line', such as the balloons that passed through some sensitive areas in the United States this time, and are determined to be non-civilian and detectable to a considerable extent." Zhong Zhidong, an assistant researcher at the National Security Research Institute of Taiwan's National Defense Security Research Institute, said in an interview with this station.
Zhong Zhidong believes that with the precedent of the United States shooting down a detection balloon, Taiwan can also reasonably and legitimately cite it. However, under the tense cross-strait relations, even if the spy balloon passes through relevant sensitive areas, he expects that "Taiwan should fully communicate with the United States and obtain the understanding of the United States before shooting it down."