Taiwan on Friday said a balloon from China flew over the region, though later clarified that it was probably a weather balloon.
Taiwan also said it detected 26 Chinese military aircraft and 10 navy ships in the 24 hours before 6 a.m. Friday.
"1 PRC [People's Republic of China] balloon was detected at 11:52 [03:52 GMT] yesterday after crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait [...] 101 nautical miles [187 kilometers] southwest of Keelung," said Taiwan's defense ministry, referring to a city in northern Taiwan. "The balloon headed east and disappeared at 12:55 [04:55 GMT]," it added.
The Taiwan Defense Ministry included a graphic showing the balloon on a meandering path.
"Our preliminary understanding is that it might be a sounding or a weather balloon that drifted toward Taiwan due to monsoon winds," Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng told reporters Friday. He also said such a balloon could be used for gathering meteorological research and data, like the impact of wind forces.
The incident came just over a month before Taiwan holds elections for president and its legislature and about a year after a Chinese spy balloon was detected over the U.S., leading to a diplomatic standoff.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told NBC News he wasn't "aware of the situation, and it is not a diplomatic question."
China has amped up military and political pressure on Taiwan, which it claims as its territory.