Chinese rocket launch poses no threat to Taiwan: Military

Taipei, Sept. 29 (CNA) Taiwan's military said Monday that a Chinese rocket launch, which flew over Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), posed no threat due to its high altitude.

The Ministry of National Defense (MND) said in a press release that the rocket was launched at 11 a.m. from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in China's southwestern Sichuan Province.

The rocket, which carried satellites, flew over the southwestern part of Taiwan's ADIZ and continued toward the western Pacific Ocean, the MND said. It noted that because the rocket flew beyond the Earth's atmosphere, the launch posed no threat to Taiwan.

The MND added that it would continue to monitor potential threats with its joint surveillance systems and remain ready to respond should any arise.

China announced earlier in the day that the rocket had successfully sent two new test satellites into space. The Shiyan-30 01 and 02 were launched at 11 a.m. aboard a Long March-2D carrier rocket and entered their preset orbits, the state-run Xinhua News Agency said Monday in an English-language report.

The satellites will be mainly used for experimental verification of Earth observation technologies. The launch marked the 598th flight mission of the Long March series carrier rockets, Xinhua added.

An ADIZ is a self-declared area where a country claims the right to identify, locate and control approaching foreign aircraft, but is not part of its territorial airspace as defined by international law.