Three alleged “Chinese weather balloons” crossed into Taiwan on Tuesday, Taipei officials said.

According to Newsweek, Taipei’s Defense Ministry stated four of the balloons were launched toward the area, and three crossed into the territory. 

A pair of balloons crossed the median line at the Taiwan Strait overnight Monday into Tuesday, while a third balloon is reported to have flown through Taiwanese National Airspace. 

Including the new sightings, a total of nine supposed Chinese weather balloons have flown over Taiwan since December.

Taiwan’s defense spokesperson Sun Li-fang noted they are probably being used for meteorological purposes and he did not believe it was related to their upcoming elections.

Li-fang also stated, “The nation’s armed forces will respond appropriately to unidentified balloons found entering Taiwan’s airspace based on the level of threat they pose to Taiwan’s security.”

Jeremy Hung, a researcher for Taiwan’s Institute for National Defense and Security Research, explained the balloons could be used for dual purposes. 

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He told Newsweek in December, “For example, is it possible that through balloons, information related to communication and radar data can actually be collected?”

In February of last year, a Chinese balloon flew over the United States and was eventually shot down. Similar balloons were spotted flying in South America, Canada, and the Middle East, via RSBN.

After it was shot down, the Pentagon confirmed that surveillance cameras had been recovered from the balloon’s wreckage, per Fox News.

Furthermore, NBC News reported U.S. intelligence officials recently revealed the Chinese spy balloon tapped into an American internet provider to communicate online. 

Despite this, Liu Pengyu, the spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, is adamant that no foul play was intended. 

He stated, “As we had made it clear before, the airship, used for meteorological research, unintentionally drifted into U.S. because of the westerlies and its limited self-steering capability.”