China to ban boats in area near Taiwan for rocket debris

China will ban vessels from an area near Taiwan on Sunday due to the possibility of dropping rocket debris, its maritime safety agency said on Thursday, as Japan asked Beijing for details about a reported no-fly zone in the same position.

China has not commented on the no-fly zone, but South Korea, also briefed on the plans, said it was due to the crash of an object related to a launch vehicle.

The break comes amid tensions in the region over Chinese military exercises near Taiwan, a show of force in response to a meeting last week in Los Angeles between Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and the Speaker of the US House of Representatives United. .

China regards Taiwan as its own territory and opposes any interaction between the Taiwanese leadership and foreign officials. Taiwan rejects China’s claims to sovereignty.

Taiwan’s government confirmed a Reuters report on Wednesday that China was planning to impose a no-fly zone from April 16 to 18 – when Japan is to host a meeting of G7 foreign ministers – but later said the China cut the plan to just 27 minutes Sunday morning after Taipei protested.

The no-fly zone will affect about 33 flights, Taiwan’s official Central News Agency said, citing Taiwan’s Transportation Minister Wang Kwo-tsai.

In a brief statement, China’s Maritime Safety Administration released coordinates for the area, saying vessels were banned from 9am to 3pm on Sunday because “rocket debris may fall”.

The coordinates correspond to a rectangular area northeast of Taiwan, with the closest point being 118 km from Taiwan, shown on a map released Wednesday by Taiwan’s Ministry of Transportation.

The area is northwest of the Japanese island of Ishigaki and near a disputed group of islets in the East China Sea that Japan calls Senkaku and China Diaoyu.

A senior Taiwanese official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media, told Reuters that China did not change its earlier 27-minute warning on flight restrictions on Sunday and that the new order only affects ships. , not planes .

Japan asked China on Wednesday for an explanation of what was happening, its chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said.

“The government continues to collect and analyze detailed information, including communication with the Chinese side, and will take appropriate action based on the results,” Matsuno said in a briefing.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment.

Source: Terra

Rose

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