Taiwan said on Friday that 12 Chinese fighter jets and a suspected weather balloon had crossed the Taiwan Strait's sensitive median line, in a ratcheting up of tensions about a month before the island's presidential election.

 People look across the strait from a lighthouse at the 68-nautical-mile scenic spot, 

Democratically governed Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, has complained for the past four years of regular Chinese military patrols and drills near the island.

Taiwan holds presidential and parliamentary polls on Jan. 13 and campaigning has kicked into high gear with how the next government handles relations with China a major point of contention.

Taiwan's defence ministry, offering details of Chinese missions on Thursday night, said 12 fighter jets had crossed the median line, that once served as an unofficial barrier between the two sides but which Chinese planes now regularly fly over.

In an unusual addition to its statement, the ministry said that around midday on Thursday it had also detected a Chinese balloon 101 nautical miles (187 km) southwest of the northern Taiwanese city of Keelung, which travelled eastward for about an hour, crossing the strait before disappearing.

Taiwan Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng told reporters at parliament that their "initial understanding" was it was probably a weather balloon, but felt the ministry had an obligation to report this to be public.

"Otherwise, if after other units or other countries have reported it, everyone will wonder why (we) did not report it. The defence ministry requires all our subordinate units to have a grasp of the enemy situation," he added.

China's defence ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

The potential for China to use of balloons for spying became a global issue in February when the United States shot down what it said was a Chinese surveillance balloon but which China said was a civilian craft that accidentally drifted astray.

Taiwan is on high alert for Chinese activities, both military and political, ahead of its election, especially what Taipei views as Beijing's efforts to interfere in the ballot to get electors to vote for candidates China may prefer.

Vice President Lai Ching-te and running mate Hsiao Bi-khim from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party are leading in the polls. China views then as separatists and has rebuffed Lai's offers of talks.

Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said on Friday that China's Taiwan Affairs Office was being "blatant" in its interference. It has called Lai and Hsiao an "independence double act".

"They are commenting in very negative language about Vice President Lai or the vice presidential candidate Bi-khim Hsiao. Those kinds of statements have already told the Taiwanese people that they want to interfere in Taiwan's election and they want to shape the results of the election," Wu said.

"They are doing all sorts of things to interfere in our election and we can expect more leading up to our polling date.

China's Taiwan Affairs Office did not respond to a request for comment on Friday about Taiwan's interference accusations. Previously it has said only that it respects Taiwan's "social systems".

It has, however, framed the election as a vote between war and peace, and urged Taiwan's people to carefully consider their choices.

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

 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.

Taiwan military vessels are seen in Keelung Harbor in Taiwan, on Aug. 4, 2022. Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said a Chinese military surveillance balloon passed over the northern port city of Keelung Thursday night, Dec. 7, 2023, then continued travelling east before disappearing.

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.

Taiwan has threatened to shoot down such balloons, but the ministry did not say what, if any, action was taken. It said the balloon was monitored flying at an altitude of approximately 6,400 meters (21,000 feet).

It also said 26 Chinese military aircraft were detected, along with 10 Chinese navy ships, in the 24 hours before 6 a.m. Friday. Of the aircraft, 15 had crossed the median line that is an unofficial divider between the sides, but which Beijing refuses to recognize. Some also entered Taiwan's self-declared air defense identification zone outside the island's airspace, which encompasses the 160 kilometer (100 mile) - wide Taiwan Strait.

Taiwan’s military monitored the situation with combat aircraft, navy vessels and land-based missile systems, the ministry said. The incident came just over month before Taiwan is to hold elections for president and the legislature and raises questions about possible Chinese efforts to influence the vote.

Such incursions occur regularly as a means of advertising China’s threat to use force to annex the self-governing island republic it considers its own territory, wear down Taiwan’s military capabilities, and impact morale among the armed forces and the public, who remain largely ambivalent to China’s actions.

The Chinese missions have also prompted Taiwan to up its purchases of aircraft from the United States, its chief ally, and revitalize its own defense industry, including producing submarines.

Beijing strongly protests all contacts between the island and the U.S., but its aggressive diplomacy has helped build strong bipartisan support for Taipei on Capitol Hill.

U.S. President Joe Biden vowed sharper rules to track, monitor and potentially shoot down unknown aerial objects after three weeks of high-stakes drama sparked by the discovery of a suspected Chinese spy balloon transiting much of the country early in the year.

The U.S. labeled the balloon a military aircraft and shot it down with a missile and recovered what it said was sophisticated surveillance equipment it was transporting. China responded angrily, saying it was merely a weather balloon that had blown off course and called the shoot-down a major overreaction.

Taiwan intelligence says China leadership discussed election interference -sources

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Senior Chinese leaders held a meeting in early December to "coordinate" government efforts to sway upcoming elections in Taiwan, according to intelligence gathered on the island, part of a campaign Taiwan officials see as voting interference.

Taiwan officials have warned that Beijing is trying to nudge voters toward candidates who seek closer China ties in the Jan. 13 presidential and legislative election, which is happening as China ramps up military and political pressure to try to force the democratically governed island to accept its sovereignty.

The meeting in Beijing was held by the Chinese Communist Party's fourth-ranked leader, Wang Huning, who is also deputy head of Beijing's Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, chaired by President Xi Jinping, according to multiple Taiwan security officials who discussed the matter with reporters.

Senior personnel from agencies including China's Publicity Department, State Security Ministry, Defence Ministry and the Taiwan Affairs Office attended, the Taiwanese security officials said, citing intelligence gathered by Taiwan. Those officials requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

U.S. President Joe Biden asked Xi to respect Taiwan's electoral process last month.

China's Taiwan Affairs Office did not respond to a request for comment. When commenting on the elections, it has said it respects Taiwan's "social systems".

The other Chinese government departments did not respond to requests for comment. The State Security Ministry has no publicly available contact details.

The meeting focused on "ensuring the effectiveness and coordination of various work on the Taiwan elections", according to an internal Taiwanese memo summing up its intelligence on the Chinese meeting.

The meeting concluded that different agencies should "consolidate" their work on Taiwan, with the Publicity Department and a psychological warfare unit under the People's Liberation Army, called "Base 311", running influence campaigns to sway public opinion via news outlets and social media, the memo said.

China's Taiwan Affairs Office and the United Front Work Department were tasked with reaching out outreach programmes that included exchange activities with Taiwan politicians and discounted air tickets for Taiwanese living in China to fly home to vote, it added.

The memo said China would continue to "play up the narrative of a 'choice between peace and war'", which posits that if the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) stays in power, a war with China is likely.

Beijing has repeatedly called the DPP dangerous separatists and urged Taiwanese to make the "right choice". The DPP's presidential candidate, Lai Ching-te, is leading in the polls.

Taiwan's government is on high alert for what they see as China's attempts to interfere in the elections by illicitly funding Beijing-friendly candidates using communications apps, group tours or misinformation campaigns, internal security reports reviewed by Reuters show.

Beijing has also sponsored cut-price trips to China for hundreds of local Taiwanese politicians ahead of the elections, Reuters has reported, citing sources and documents.

"They are coordinating their work on Taiwan in the final days to the elections," said one of the sources, a senior official familiar with Taiwan's security planning. "They want the best outcome possible."

In the meeting, Beijing also concluded that it must "adjust the pace" of their campaigns, that senior official said, pointing to negative reactions in Taiwan after recent Taiwan government scrutiny over the cut-price trips, as well as comments on Chinese state television, which has called the DPP's presidential candidates an "independence double act".

"If you are too obvious with election interference it could backfire," the source said.