China space rocket 'near' Taiwan ADIZ no cause for alarm: MND
ROC Central News Agency
10/05/2023 02:20 PM
Taipei, Oct. 5 (CNA) The Ministry of National Defense (MND) on Thursday said that a Chinese space rocket detected passing "near" Taiwan's air defense identification zone (AIDZ) did not pose a threat to national security.
In a press release, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said it had detected the launch of a Chinese-built Long March-2D carrier rocket from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center, located in the southwestern province of Sichuan, early Thursday morning.
The MND said that although the rocket's trajectory passed "near" the southwestern part of Taiwan's ADIZ, it did not pose a threat to national security due to having already exited the Earth's atmosphere.
An ADIZ is an area declared by a country to allow it to identify, locate and control approaching foreign aircraft, but it is not part of the territorial airspace as defined by international law.
The MND did not provide further information, saying only that it has been closely watching the whole launch with its joint intelligence systems.
According to a report from China's national news agency Xinhua, the Long March-2D carrier rocket, which was carrying a Yaogan-39 satellite, took off from Sichuan at 8:24 a.m.
The Chinese Yaogan or Remote Sensing satellite, is a series of government optical remote sensing satellites, likely also used as a military reconnaissance satellite.
The launch was the 490th mission undertaken by China's indigenous Long March rocket series, Xinhua said.
(By Joseph Yeh)
Enditem/ASG
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