Nevertheless, the balloon flights may be part of a “gray zone” tactic used by China to warn Taiwan of its military capabilities and options without engaging in an open confrontation. The timing of the balloon flight, close to Taiwan’s elections, is telling, said Gao Yongsen, a researcher at the Defense and Security Research Institute, a Taipei think tank funded by Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense. Mr Coe analyzed recent sighting patterns.
“This is having a rather coercive effect at a very sensitive time in Taiwan, where we will be holding an election on January 13th,” Ko said in an interview. China “may want to tone it down,” he said. People are said to have been recklessly using primary weapons such as aircraft and ships for harassment, so they are turning to balloons, which can be used for some kind of less intense intimidation and harassment. ”
Taiwan’s voters will choose the president and legislature in the election, but the Chinese government has made no secret that it wants the ruling Democratic Progressive Party to lose power. The party opposes the Chinese government’s claims to Taiwan and advocates for Taiwan’s independent identity and statehood. The party supported Taiwanese independence decades ago, but now says it accepts a more ambiguous status quo of democratic self-determination.
The Democratic Progressive Party’s presidential candidate, Kiyonori Lai, was leading in most opinion polls through Wednesday. However, KMT candidate Hou Yuxi, who supports closer ties with China, has trailed Lai by just a few percentage points in several recent polls, raising the possibility that the KMT could emerge as the largest party in the Legislative Yuan. There is a possibility that it may come to an end. Democratic Party majority.
Late last month, when asked about the first reports of balloons near Taiwan, Chinese Defense Ministry Spokesman Wu Qian would not confirm or deny any flights, but said Taiwan is part of China and therefore He suggested that all the disputes surrounding it were not a problem. Crossing the middle line between the two sides was not up for debate. He also accused the Democratic Party of making up the issue “to steal votes.”