Beijing’s changes to civil flight path near Taiwan Strait median line likely to ‘squeeze’ island’s air defence capacity

In a brief statement late on Tuesday, Beijing’s Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said it was cancelling an “offset measure” for southbound operations of the M503 flight route. The route is just west of the strait median line – a notional midway point between self-governed Taiwan and mainland China. The CAAC said it would … Read more

Taiwan reports 17 ‘airborne balloons’ approaching from mainland China in run-up to election

The first balloon was reported on December 7. The Taiwanese defence ministry identified the objects as weather balloons until Tuesday, when it started describing them as “airborne balloons”. The Taiwanese defence ministry told the Post in a statement that the “Communist Party is using drones and airborne balloons as a way of grey-zone attack and … Read more