TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of National Defense (MND) announced that a Chinese balloon was detected crossing the Taiwan Strait median line on Monday (Dec. 25).

The MND said one Chinese balloon was detected at 10:30 p.m. on Monday, around 122 km (66 nautical miles) northwest of Keelung at an altitude of approximately 7,900 m (26,000 ft). The balloon then headed east and disappeared at 12:27 a.m. on Tuesday (Dec. 26), according to the MND.

In addition, the MND also announced that eight People's Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft and five naval vessels were tracked around Taiwan from 6 a.m. Monday to 6 a.m. Tuesday. One Shaanxi Y-8 anti-submarine warfare plane, one Shaanxi Y-8 reconnaissance plane, and one KJ-500 early warning and control aircraft entered the southwest corner of the air defense identification zone (ADIZ).

When asked by Taiwan News whether the balloon was used for surveillance, an MND spokesperson said the preliminary assessment is that it was a weather balloon.