TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — China plans to close some airspace north of Taiwan for under half an hour next week, down from an originally reported three days.

On Wednesday afternoon (April 12), Reuters reported that Taiwanese and South Korean officials said the airspace will be closed due to a falling satellite launch gear expected to pass through the area. The initially reported three days, now revised to 27 minutes, briefly caused alarm, as some viewed it as an escalation of Chinese military exercises around the country.

It is unclear if the change to the no-fly zone’s duration is a revision of the original plan or a misunderstanding. Taiwan’s Ministry of Transportation and Communications issued a statement that the no-fly zone had been revised from three days to half an hour due to protests.

Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin (汪文斌) said he was unaware of the planned airspace closure.

The specific wording used to communicate the plans possibly caused the confusion. The Financial Times reported that several countries had been notified on Tuesday (April 11) of the no-fly zone to be imposed between April 16 and 18, without specifying if that meant from April 16 until 18, or at some point in between.