On Friday, China denied establishing a no-fly zone in the waters north of Taiwan for Sunday, despite Taipei's assertion that it had been informed of such a move by Beijing. Taiwan's transport ministry claimed that Beijing initially notified Taipei of its intention to enforce a no-fly zone from April 16 to 18. However, after Taipei lodged a protest, the no-fly zone's duration was allegedly reduced to a 27-minute window on Sunday morning.
In a regular media briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin appeared to dispute this claim. Wang stated, "I have noticed that there were previous reports pointing out that the no-fly zone was set up by the Chinese side, which is inaccurate. The relevant authorities will implement measures to ensure flight safety." He added that China's civil aviation authority would issue advance warnings and notices for any space activities.
Despite these assurances, Taiwan has already issued a notice to airmen for Sunday morning, stating that the airspace will be "blocked due to aerospace flight activity." The affected area encompasses busy flight routes between Taiwan and China, as well as between Taiwan and South Korea.
On Thursday, China's maritime safety agency announced that potential rocket debris would fall in the East China Sea on April 16 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (0100 GMT to 0700 GMT) and prohibited shipping vessels from entering the area. The Taiwan Affairs Office confirmed in a statement on Friday that "relevant parties in the mainland have issued advance notices and announcements of space activities affecting the airspace."
Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office, accused critics of politicizing China's space activities and attempting to escalate cross-strait confrontation. The reported airspace disruption occurs amid regional tensions and follows recent Chinese military exercises near Taiwan, which China considers part of its territory.
