Taiwan issues alert over China firing satellite over south of island

Warnings triggered on mobile phones across Taiwan

Mobile phone alerts were triggered Tuesday afternoon, warning of a Chinese satellite flying over the island. (Nikkei montage/Source photos by Hiroki Endo)

LAULY LI and CHENG TING-FANG, Nikkei staff writers

January 9, 2024 17:18 JST

Updated on January 9, 2024 18:01 JST

TAIPEI -- Taiwan's defense ministry said a Chinese satellite flew over Taiwan on Tuesday afternoon, triggering mobile phone alerts across the island.

In Chinese, the alerts said: "China launched a satellite at 3:03 p.m. local time and it flew over the southern part of Taiwan. Please be mindful for the unidentified objects and report to police." In English, however, it said it was an "air raid alert" for a "missile flyover Taiwan airspace, be aware."