The Defense Ministry reported that China launched a carrier rocket at 9:20 a.m. Tuesday but emphasized that this action posed no threat to Taiwan.
According to Xinhua News Agency, a Long March-4B carrier rocket was launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan to place a new group of remote sensing satellites in space.
Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said that although the rocket’s flight path passed through the southwestern part of Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), it was flying at a high enough altitude to present no risk to Taiwan. In addition, the ministry also reported the presence of 19 Chinese military aircraft, 8 Chinese military vessels, and 1 official ship operating around Taiwan. 16 of the aircraft crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered Taiwan’s northern, southwestern, and eastern ADIZ. Their activity was monitored from 6 a.m. Monday to 6 a.m. this morning.
The ministry said it is closely monitoring the situation and air and naval patrols have been deployed with land-based missile systems in response to the activities.