Taiwan will "handle" Chinese balloons flying nearby based on threat assessments, though officials believe the current wave is for weather purposes, driven by the prevailing winds at this time of year, the defence ministry in Taipei said on Wednesday.

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

Taiwan is on high alert for Chinese activities, both military and political, ahead of Jan. 13 presidential and parliamentary elections. Taipei has warned that Beijing may try to interfere to get voters to pick candidates China may prefer.

Taiwan's defence ministry has so far this month reported four instances of Chinese balloons flying over the sensitive Taiwan Strait, then crossing airspace to the island's north before vanishing.

Speaking to reporters, defence ministry spokesman Sun Li-fang said that from October to March Chinese balloons are more regularly spotted due to the winds at that time of year.

"Generally speaking most of the ones we have spotted so far are weather balloons," he said. "They are from mainland China, and not necessarily from the People's Liberation Army."

The ministry will "handle" Chinese balloons depending on the threat assessment level, but what exactly that entails is secret, Sun added.

The ministry will announce it if the balloons are for surveillance purposes, but it is so far not possible to judge whether the balloons seen at the moment are connected to the election, he said.

The ministry has said the balloons it has spotted this month disappeared after flying north of Taiwan. Sun said the balloons may explode at a certain altitude or simply vanish from the area the military keeps watch over.

China's defence ministry has not responded to several requests for comment on the balloons.

Taiwan reports 2 Chinese balloons near its territory as China steps up pressure ahead of elections.

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.

Two Chinese balloons flew north of Taiwan, the island's Defense Ministry said Monday, as China increases pressure on the self-ruled territory it claims as its own ahead of a presidential election in January.

The balloons crossed the sensitive Taiwan Strait separating the island from China and were detected about 110 nautical miles (204 kilometers) northwest of the northern port city of Keelung on Sunday, the ministry said.

It was the second time this month Taiwan reported a Chinese balloon near its territory, after one crossed southwest of Keelung on Dec. 7.

China’s potential for using weather balloons to spy on other governments came into focus earlier this year, when the United States shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon over the Atlantic Ocean, drawing China’s ire.

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry did not say whether it suspected the balloon could have been used for spying.

China’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately comment.

Beijing has increased pressure on Taiwan by sending military aircraft and warships near the island almost daily.

Taipei is preparing for a presidential election on Jan. 13. The front-runner, current Vice President William Lai of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party, has been criticized by Beijing as a “separatist.”

Lai has said he wants to maintain peace and the status quo in relations with China.

Taiwan split from China amid civil war in 1949, but Beijing continues to regard the island of 23 million with its high-tech economy as Chinese territory and has been steadily upping its threat to achieve that goal by military force if necessary.