China warns ‘rocket debris may end up’ near Taiwan, bans vessel passage

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) - As Chinese jets and naval vessels continue to fly and sail around Taiwan, Beijing on Thursday warned that “rocket debris may end up” near the island nation on Sunday.

“From 9:00 am (0100GMT) to 3:00 pm (0700GMT) on April 16, 2023, there may be rocket wreckage falling in the water,” the Maritime Safety Administration of China’s eastern Fujian province on Thursday.

It added that debris, reportedly coming from a satellite launch vehicle, may end up within a zone designated by four main points in the East China Sea, to the northeast of the island of Taiwan.

Beijing’s warning came after Taiwan claimed that China was imposing a no-fly zone north of the island nation.

China’s Foreign Ministry, however, did not comment on the issue when asked for a response on Wednesday.

Taiwan had said its Transportation and Communications Ministry was notified by Beijing on Tuesday that navigation would be barred in the area on April 16-18.

Taipei also had sought a reduction in the imposition of such a ban as it would cause “massive disruption to flights,” Taiwan News reported.

Later, “China changed the (start of the) no-fly zone period from 9:30 a.m. to 9:57 a.m., a period of just 27 minutes,” it added.

The island nation’s Deputy Intelligence Minister Yen Yu-hsien said “the no-fly zone is about 85 nautical miles (157 km) north of Taiwan inside its air defense identification zone” (ADIZ).

“The purpose of the no-fly zone is believed to be ‘aerospace activities’, but the details of the maneuvers are under investigation,” he added.

A full-day closure of airspace “would impact 18 international routes and 160 flights per day,” the Transport Ministry said.

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) held combined patrols of the army, navy, and air force around the island nation as a reaction to Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen’s meetings with US officials, including US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy last week.

With stopovers in the US, Tsai was on a 10-day tour of the Central American countries of Guatemala and Belize, two of only 13 diplomatic allies of Taiwan.

Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said early Thursday that 26 PLA aircraft and seven PLA naval vessels were detected around the island nation.

In a statement, the ministry said: “14 of the detected aircraft had crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait.”

China does not recognize the median line nor the ADIZ as Beijing claims Taiwan as its “breakaway province,” while Taipei has insisted on its independence since 1949.

The island nation, home to around 124 million people, sits across Taiwan Strait, south of mainland China.