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Taiwan’s military detects four Chinese balloons near island

Also, Taiwan’s army registered the approach of 10 aircraft of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army and four warships near the island in the past day

HONG KONG, January 9. /TASS/. Four Chinese balloons crossed the Taiwan Strait median line in the past day, the Taiwanese Ministry of National Defense reported.

The balloons were spotted at 11:53 a.m. local time (3:53 a.m. GMT), 1:58 p.m. (5:58 a.m. GMT), 7:36 p.m. (11:36 a.m. GMT) and 8:24 p.m. (12:24 p.m. GMT) on Monday, respectively, the ministry said in a statement on its website. According to the Taiwanese military, the balloons were flying eastwards at altitudes of 4.57 km to 10.06 km.

In addition, Taiwan’s army registered the approach of 10 aircraft of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and four warships near the island in the past day. Two of the warplanes, namely J-16 fighter jets, flew into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone southwest off the island. Taiwanese aircraft, vessels and air defense systems were dispatched to monitor them.

Taiwan, China’s largest island, has been governed by its local administration since 1949. Since then, Taiwan has preserved the flag and some other symbols of the Republic of China that had existed in mainland China before the Communists came to power. Beijing considers Taiwan a province of the People’s Republic of China.

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