TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A Chinese rocket carrying a satellite passed over south Taiwan Saturday (June 22) with the Ministry of National Defense (MND) discounting any threat from the event.
The launch and passage of the rocket had been anticipated, with the MND informing the public. Days before the January elections, an alert went out to smartphones across Taiwan warning of a similar Chinese satellite launch, though with an erroneous message in English mentioning a missile flyover.
Saturday’s launch took place at 3 p.m. in Xichang, Sichuan Province, with the rocket leaving the Earth’s atmosphere before flying over south Taiwan in the direction of the West Pacific, per CNA.
The MND said it had monitored the launch and the flight with its intelligence and surveillance systems, but had detected no threat to Taiwan.