TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of National Defense (MND) said Thursday (Oct. 5) morning a People's Liberation Army (PLA) Long March rocket carrying a spy satellite had been detected over Taiwan's air defense identification zone (ADIZ).

The MND said the PLA used a Long March launch vehicle based at Xichang Satellite Launch Center in China's Sichuan Province. The defense ministry pointed out the rocket's flight altitude reached above the atmosphere and "poses no harm to Taiwan."

Even so, the MND said the rocket's flight path passed over the southwest edge of Taiwan's ADIZ. It added that it deployed its joint intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance system to monitor the ballistic dynamics, trajectories, and other information to enable an appropriate response.

Long March 2D carrying Yaogan-39 lifts off from Xichang launchpad on Oct. 5. (Weibo, CASC screenshot)

According to China's state-run People's Daily, a Long March 2D carried a Yaogan-39 "remote sensing satellite" into orbit. Although China has released few details about the Yaogan series, Western observers assess that these satellites are for "military purposes," reported Space News.

The Eurasian Times cited security analysts as saying the Yaogan series are surveillance satellites equipped with "optical and radar payloads intended to boost the Chinese anti-access and area-denial capabilities by augmenting the Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile system (ASBM)." According to the newspaper, these satellites form a "network of electro-optical, imagery intelligence (IMINT), synthetic aperture radar (SAR), and electronic intelligence satellites (ELINT)."

Watch the high-resolution video of how China‘s #LongMarch2D rocket sending #Yaogan39 remote sensing satellite into space today！



（Video Credit: Chen Longliang) pic.twitter.com/cL50vOrWIF

— Wu Lei (@wulei2020) October 5, 2023