Another Chinese balloon, this time, was landing in Taiwan. A team is now investigating its purpose. The balloon was discovered on one of Taiwan’s outlying islands on Thursday.
Taiwan’s Foreign minister said that the balloon carried the equipment registered to a Chinese state-owned electronics company and that a label on the craft identifies it as a weather balloon. But the minister said officials aren’t quite ready to make a determination on its purpose.
A spokesman for the Chinese electronics company in Taiyuan confirmed it provided its equipment for the balloon but did not build it. He added that the balloon was likely the kind launched daily to monitor weather conditions, and that the craft probably launched from a coastal city in mainland China just across Taiwan, without a fixed flight course.
Dozens of Chinese military balloons have appeared in Taiwanese airspace in recent years. Both Taiwanese and American officials believe these balloons are used to collect weather data, which is useful for adjusting radar and missile systems. Weather conditions impact missile accuracy.
The United States has accused the Chinese Communist Party of dispatching balloons worldwide to spy on Washington and its allies.