A Chinese military surveillance balloon is spotted in Taiwan Strait, island’s Defense Ministry says

ABC News:

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan’s Defense Ministry says a Chinese military surveillance balloon was spotted in the Taiwan Strait, as well as a large-scale movement of military aircraft and ships.

The ministry said the balloon passed southwest of the northern port city of Keelung on Thursday night, then continued east before disappearing, possibly into the Pacific Ocean.

However, there seemed to some uncertainty about whether the balloon was operated directly by the People’s Liberation Army, the military branch of China‘s ruling Communist Party. The ministry referred to it both as a “”PLA surveillance balloon” and as “1 PRC’s balloon,” using the acronym for the People’s Republic of China, China’s official name.

A Defense Ministry spokesperson said they had no additional information.

China has long blurred the lines between military and civilian functions, including in the South China Sea, where it operates a huge maritime militia — ostensibly civilian fishing boats that act under government orders to assert Beijing’s territorial claims.