Chinese Rocket Flies Over Taiwan: No Threat, Says Taiwan’s Ministry of Defence
A Chinese rocket carrying a satellite flew over southern Taiwan on Saturday, but Taiwan’s Ministry of Defence (MND) confirmed it posed no threat. The rocket was launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in China’s Sichuan at 3 pm local time.
According to Taiwan’s MND, the rocket had already left Earth’s atmosphere when it passed over Taiwan. The MND had been closely monitoring the launch and tracking real-time information through intelligence and surveillance systems. They had alerted the public about the imminent launch on Friday.
Earlier, on January 9, Taiwanese security forces issued a nationwide air raid alert after a Chinese satellite flew over its southern airspace. The MND stated that the armed forces’ joint intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance system are closely monitoring such situations.
On its official handle on X, the Taiwanese Defence Ministry posted, “The air raid alert system was activated in the form of text messages to inform the public. The default English message was not revised and therefore incorrectly stated the launch vehicle as ‘missile.’ The MND extends an apology for any confusion this may have caused.”
This development is significant as it comes just days ahead of Taiwan’s presidential and parliamentary elections on January 13. China has described the upcoming elections as a choice between “war and peace.”
On December 31, Chinese President Xi Jinping asserted that Taiwan would be reunified with China. Xi has repeatedly affirmed China’s stance that Taiwan is a part of China and that it must be reunified, by force if necessary. “All Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait should be bound by a common sense of purpose and share in the glory of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation,” Xi said in his address on December 31. “The motherland will surely be reunified,” he added.
Xi also pledged to reunify Taiwan during a symposium in Beijing on December 26, commemorating the 130th anniversary of the birth of Mao Zedong, the founding father of Communist China. “The complete reunification of the motherland is an irresistible trend,” Xi said at the event, adding that China would “resolutely prevent anyone from splitting” the two sides.
Taiwan, officially known as the Republic of China, has long been a contentious issue in China’s foreign policy. Despite never having governed Taiwan, China continues to assert its sovereignty over the region and insists on eventual reunification, by force if necessary.