The Biden administration has called for “free, fair, open, and transparent elections” in Taiwan and warned against Chinese Communist Party (CCP) interference after the self-ruling island reported seeing multiple Chinese balloons flying across the Taiwan Strait this week.
White House National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, John Kirby, issued the warning during a White House press briefing alongside press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Jan. 4, just days after Taiwan’s defense ministry said four alleged Chinese balloons were seen passing over the island.
The crossings come shortly before some 19.5 million Taiwanese voters are set to head to the polls to elect a new government for the next four years.
President and legislature elections are scheduled to take place in Taiwan on Jan. 13.
Asked by Epoch Times White House correspondent Emel Akan for the Biden administration’s response to the alleged CCP surveillance balloons spotted over Taiwan, Mr. Kirby said he could not confirm the reports.
The White House official instead referred members of the media to officials in Taiwan and China regarding the alleged sightings.
However, Mr. Kirby stressed that Washington supports “the democracy and the democratic institutions of Taiwan” and wants to see “free, fair, open, and transparent elections there.”
Suspected CCP ‘Vessels’ Seen Over Taiwan
According to Taiwan’s defense ministry, the four alleged surveillance balloons—which defense officials referred to as“vessels”—were detected Tuesday crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait, southwest of Ching Chuan Kang Air Base in Taichung.Three of the vessels flew directly over the island at altitudes between 3,659 and 6,706 meters, officials said.
The fourth vessel hovered north of Keelung, which is a major trading port with Japan.
China’s defense ministry has not yet commented on the alleged surveillance balloon sightings in Taiwan.
However, the reported incursions on Tuesday come as the CCP, which wants to claim the self-ruled island as its own, has stepped up its military harassment of Taiwan in recent years.
Taiwanese prosecutors are also currently investigating allegations that the CCP bribed Taiwanese officials with Chinese-subsidised trips to China and money to influence the election and are expected to release their findings after the vote.
Speaking to VOA on Thursday, Mr. Kirby again cautioned against interference in the island’s upcoming elections but stopped short of confirming the allegations made by Taiwanese prosecutors.
US to Monitor Taiwan Elections
“We’ve been very clear that we respect Taiwan’s democratic institutions. We respect the will of the people of Taiwan to make these sorts of decisions in terms of their own governance. And we don’t want any other actor, be it a nation state or otherwise, to interfere in this election,” Mr. Kirby said.Asked if the United States would have confidence in Taiwan’s election results if hard evidence emerged that the CCP did influence the election, Mr. Kirby declined to “speculate” on the matter.
“We want these elections to be free and fair and transparent. We want the will of the people of Taiwan to be respected. We'll just monitor this as closely as we can,” he said.
“It’s important that as the people of Taiwan go to the polls to cast their ballots, they can do so with a feeling of safety and security and comfort in the knowledge that their vote matters, and that it’s going to be appropriately tallied,” the White House official said. “And that’s really what we’re focused on. That’s what we want to see happen.”
Last February, U.S. officials shot down a massive Chinese balloon in North America that flew over sensitive military sites. At the time, China insisted the balloon was a civilian meteorological balloon that was blown off course owing to weather-related issues.
However, the Biden administration has said the balloon was part of the CCP’s expansive military-linked aerial surveillance program which has targeted more than 40 countries.
