Chinese military planes invade Taiwan’s airspace as US pursues surveillance balloon

More than a dozen Chinese military aircraft and four naval vessels were spotted near Taiwan as of Friday morning, according to defense officials.

Incursions by Chinese warplanes have become almost commonplace in recent months, but Friday’s show of aggression precedes a visit by Foreign Minister Antony Blinken.

FILE PHOTO: Chinese military helicopters fly past Pingtan Island, one of mainland China’s closest points to Taiwan, in Fujian province.
(Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)

A Chinese surveillance balloon was also sighted at high altitude in the skies over Montana on Thursday, prompting some senators to urge Blinken to cancel his trip.

US GOVERNMENT MONITORS SUSPECTED CHINESE SPY BALLOON OVER NORTHERN STATES

Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., called for a full safety briefing on the balloon from Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, saying that the United States’ Malmstrom Air Force Base (AFB) and Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) fields could be the targets of the intelligence operation.

A balloon flies in the sky over Billings, Montana, U.S., February 1, 2023, in this social media image.
(Chase Doak/via REUTERS)

Austin, who was visiting Camp Navarro in the Philippines when the news broke, called a meeting with senior DoD leaders and decided not to take military action because of “the risk to the safety of people on the ground from the potential debris field.” ‘ said a senior defense official.

Taiwan’s military, meanwhile, activated planes, naval vessels and land-based missile systems to monitor China’s invasion on Friday morning.

FILE PHOTO: Taiwanese armed forces conduct anti-landing drills during the annual Han Kuang military drills near New Taipei City in Taiwan on Wednesday, July 27, 2022.
(Taiwan Ministry of Defense via AP, file)

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Bi-khim Hsiao, Taiwan’s envoy to the US, said last month that the island had learned important lessons from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“All we are doing now is to prevent the pain and suffering of the tragedy in Ukraine from being repeated in our Taiwan scenario,” she told the Associated Press. “So ultimately we are trying to prevent the use of military force. But in the worst case, we understand that we need to be better prepared.”

Fox News’ Adam Sabes contributed to this report.