File photo of satellite carrier rocket
Taiwanese authorities announced Tuesday afternoon that a Chinese satellite passed through the airspace over southern Taiwan.
An “air raid warning” has been sent to mobile phone users across Taiwan, warning them to “be safe.”
According to Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense, the satellite was launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in China’s Sichuan province at 15:03 local time.
Chinese broadcaster CCTV confirmed that a satellite named Einstein Probe was launched from the center.
It added that the launch mission was “completely successful”.
According to Reuters, Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said launching a satellite (over Taiwan) so close to the election was a “gray zone” activity.
Taiwan said its defense ministry was tracking the satellite’s orbit to “appropriately alert and respond” to the situation.
According to Taiwanese media, this is the first time the government has issued a warning of this type for the entire island.
Eric Chu, chairman of Taiwan’s main opposition Kuomintang Party (KMT), accused the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government of inciting fear, especially by using the term “missile” in the English version of the alert. There it was written: ”[Air raid alert] Be careful as missiles will pass through Taiwanese airspace. ”
The incident comes days before pivotal presidential and legislative elections in Taiwan, which analysts say will shape the trajectory of relations between China and the United States.
The Einstein probe was made possible by a partnership between the European Space Agency, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics.
China’s Xinhua news agency said on Tuesday that the satellite will “observe mysterious transient phenomena in the universe comparable to the flicker of fireworks, with the aim of revealing violent and little-known aspects of the universe.” Ta.
In December, Taiwanese media also reported that Chinese carrier-based rockets had passed over the island. According to a report by Focus Taiwan published on December 10, a transport rocket also launched from Xichang passed over southwestern Taiwan in space.