Taiwan says it reserves right to shoot down Chinese balloons

Taiwan's military said it reserved the right to shoot down any Chinese balloon it deems a threat, comments that come after a report that the aircraft often fly over the democratically run island.

"The ministry has rules in terms of response and will continue revising the rules in a timely manner to respond to new threats such as balloons," Defence Ministry spokesperson Sun Li-fang said in a phone call on Monday. "The military will adopt appropriate measures, including shooting threats down, according to the level of concern," he added.

The Financial Times reported the balloon flights by China's military are frequent, with one occurring in recent weeks, citing a senior official from Taiwan.