A rocket carrying an Einstein exploration satellite was launched from China, raising alarm in Taiwan.
Taiwan has issued an air raid warning for the entire island after a Chinese satellite passed through its airspace in the south, days before a crucial presidential election.
Mobile phone users across the autonomous island received messages warning them to “be safe.”
The “presidential alert” highlighted the anxiety ahead of crucial presidential and parliamentary elections on Saturday.
China has long claimed Taiwan as part of its territory and has been accused of interfering in the vote.
The self-governing island of 23 million people has become a key flashpoint in the battle between China and the United States for supremacy in Asia. Analysts say the election will shape the trajectory of China-US relations.
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. At about the same time as the alert, China’s CCTV announced that a satellite called the Einstein spacecraft had been launched and was a “complete success.”
Alerts were sent to mobile phones throughout Taiwan.
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.
“If rockets are flying openly in our skies, some of the rocket barrels and debris will fall into this area,” said Wu, who was at a press conference when the alert was issued. he said.
“That’s why our National Warning Center issues this type of alert. We’ve seen similar things happen before.”
Taiwan said its defense ministry was tracking the satellite’s orbit to “appropriately alert and respond” to the situation. The ministry said the satellite was at high altitude when it passed over Taiwan’s airspace.
According to Taiwanese media, this is the first time the government has issued a warning of this type for the entire island.
Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu received an alert on his cell phone during a press conference
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. ”
“This is the first time I’ve heard of such a warning being issued when a satellite is launched. Everyone may have been surprised because they thought it was a missile, but it was actually a satellite…That’s why the Ministry of Defense is making efforts. “By issuing such a warning, we are misleading the public.”
Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense later apologized for inaccurately mentioning the missile in a cellphone message.
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.