The no-fly zone north of Taiwan announced by China on Tuesday has been revealed to be due to the launch of a new weather satellite. That was according to a report in CNA News Thursday, citing anonymous Taiwanese national security officials.
China's Fujian Maritime Safety Administration released a statement on April 13th cautioning against falling rocket debris. The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) had also announced in February that they planned to launch the new Fengyun-3G Weather Satellite in mid-April.
The no-fly zone as originally announced would have lasted three days, which caused alarm about both national security and commercial flight paths in the region. China ultimately revised its timeframe down from three days to 27 minutes on April 16th after Taiwan protested. China concluded three days of military exercises around Taiwan just one day before the no-fly zone was announced.
Taiwan’s Transportation and Communications Ministry said it will be monitoring the area closely for the upcoming days.