The frontline islands of Matsu and Kinmen in the Taiwan Strait are not only Cold War-era military outposts but also one of Asia’s UFO hotspot regions. Due to the long-term military presence on these islands, the credibility of sighting reports is particularly high.

📍 Location	📅 Date	🔍 Category
Matsu Islands, Taiwan Strait	1990s-2000s	Military / Radar Confirmed

In the 1990s, military personnel and civilians on Matsu repeatedly reported seeing strange glowing orbs hovering over the sea. These orbs moved in unusual ways—they could remain completely stationary for hours, then fly away at extremely high speeds. Some reports even mentioned the orbs diving into the water and disappearing.

A retired military officer from Kinmen, Mr. Zhang (pseudonym), recalled in an interview with Taiwanese UFO researchers that while serving on Kinmen in the summer of 1995, he personally witnessed a huge silver disc-shaped object hovering over the sea. He said the camp went into emergency mode, and the commander ordered everyone into bunkers.

Taiwan’s naval radar stations also repeatedly recorded “unidentified targets” appearing near the median line of the Taiwan Strait. The flight patterns of these targets differed from any known military or civilian aircraft—they often flew at very low speeds, then suddenly accelerated to supersonic speeds.

Interestingly, military radars on both sides of the strait recorded these anomalous targets. Declassified documents from Taiwan’s military show that some targets could instantly change altitude from 5,000 meters to sea level—maneuvers completely beyond the capabilities of any aircraft at the time.

A legend circulates among Matsu residents: on certain specific nights, the “lights on the sea” become particularly active, and when these lights appear, surrounding electronic devices experience interference. This account is highly consistent with reports from other global UFO hotspots.

The Taiwan UFO Research Society has long called on Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense to release more radar records of strait UFOs, but the ministry has refused full declassification, citing “national security considerations.”

📚 Sources

• Taiwan UFO Research Society, “Investigation Report on Taiwan Strait UFO Incidents” (2003)
• Mr. Zhang (pseudonym), “UFO Sighting During Military Service on Kinmen” (2005), Taiwan UFO Journal
• Taiwan Ministry of National Defense Air Force Command, “Strait Radar Contact Records” (1990s, partially declassified)