TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Following China’s announcement that it will close some airspace to the north of Taiwan on Sunday (April 16), Taiwan authorities have communicated with China and concluded the closure is being carried out in consideration of maritime safety.
Taiwan’s Ministry of Transport and Communications (MOTC) issued a press release on Thursday (April 13) saying it had received a telegram from the Chinese authorities on April 12 notifying Taiwan of a 27-minute closure on April 16, but that on Thursday Chinese authorities revised that to between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Given the inconsistencies, MOTC made enquiries to the Fujian authority and concluded the closure will last six hours, and is being carried out in the interest of maritime safety.
MOTC also confirmed failing rocket debris as being the cause of the closure, and that the six hour window is needed to rule out any danger to traffic in the affected area. The ministry also issued a statement on Wednesday that said the no-fly zone had been revised from three days to 30 minutes due to protests, but did not address this in its most recent release.
Deputy Intelligence Minister Yen Yu-hsien (顏有賢) said on Wednesday the no-fly zone will be about 157 km north of Taiwan, and announced its coordinates.
Initial reports of the closure said that it would last for three days, and briefly caused alarm, as some viewed it as an escalation of Chinese military exercises around the country. The specific wording used to communicate the planned closure possibly caused the confusion, as it was first reported the no-fly zone would be imposed between April 16-18, without specifying if that meant from April 16 until 18, or at some point in between.