Chinese Rocket Flies Over Taiwan’s Airspace

On Tuesday morning, a Chinese rocket carrying a satellite passed through the eastern part of Taiwan’s Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ). The rocket was launched from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Centre in Shanxi at 10:33 am local time.

According to Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence (MND), the satellite flew south towards the Yellow Sea, over eastern Taiwan, and then towards the waters east of the Philippines. The MND confirmed that the rocket’s altitude was outside the atmosphere and posed no threat to Taiwan. Taiwan monitored the launch and took appropriate precautionary steps.

Earlier in the day, the MND detected six Chinese naval vessels around Taiwan between 6 am on Monday and 6 am on Tuesday. Taiwan responded by sending aircraft and naval ships and deploying coastal-based missile systems to monitor the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) activity. No PLA aircraft were tracked in Taiwan’s ADIZ during this timeframe.

In a post on X, Taiwan’s MND stated, “6 PLAN vessels operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. We have monitored the situation and responded accordingly. Today’s illustration of flight path is not provided due to no PLA aircraft operation around Taiwan were detected during this timeframe.”

Earlier in January, China launched the Einstein Probe satellite from Sichuan province, which flew over Taiwan’s southern airspace. The satellite was a joint project between the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the European Space Agency, and Germany’s Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics. Taiwan Space Agency Deputy Director Chu Chung-hui expressed concerns about the safety of the launch, noting that multiple segments detaching during the launch could potentially fall anywhere.