Taiwan's military says it has found the wreckage of a suspected Chinese weather balloon on a remote island effectively controlled by Taiwan.

Army officials say its forces on Dongyin Island saw an unidentified object falling from the sky and discovered remnants of a balloon at a shooting range late Thursday morning. The island is close to China's southeastern coastal province of Fujian.

The army says the sphere is about 1 meter in diameter, with an instrument box bearing the simplified Chinese characters for "meteorological instrument" and the name of a company. China mainly uses simplified Chinese letters, while Taiwan uses traditional characters.

The army says an initial investigation concluded that the remains are of a weather balloon. It says relevant departments will conduct a further analysis.

The army says it will not release photographs or any other information while the analysis is underway.

Balloons had been spotted in and near Taiwan before the incident.

Taiwan's defense ministry says none of them has posed a security threat. It says if a balloon is found to be a major threat, the military will take action, such as shooting it down.