Taiwan’s Defense Ministry has confirmed that a Chinese rocket carrying a satellite was launched Thursday evening from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in Sichuan.
The ministry says that the flight path of China’s Long March rocket passed over Taiwan but at an altitude above the atmosphere. The military has been maintaining a high degree of vigilance, closely monitoring recent developments, and has taken precautionary measures to ensure Taiwan’s air defense security.
China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation’s (CASC) Long March rockets are expendable launch system rockets named after the communist army's 1934–35 Long March military retreat during the Chinese Civil War. The CASC has completed more than 450 launches since the first successful launch in 1970.