Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence (MND) has claimed that  China has launched satellites from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center (XSLC) with the flight path covering Taiwan’s southwestern Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ).

The Ministry posted on X: "At 9:09 a.m. (UTC+8), China launched satellites from #XSLC, with the flight path over our southwestern ADIZ toward the Western Pacific. The altitude is beyond the atmosphere, posing no threat. #ROCArmedForces monitored the process and remain ready to respond."

Why is Taiwan important to China?

“A lot of things actually, which of course are related to Taiwan but not necessarily direct to Taiwan. It's more about (China's) relationship changing with the United States – or we should say Western Countries, mainly the United States and China. Taiwan then happens to become a key player and main actor in this dynamics,” said Alice.

100 miles from the coast of China, Taiwan is an island, that is located in the “first island chain,” this positioning makes it crucial to the US foreign policy.

US-Sino relations hinge on, ‘One China Policy,’ it acknowledges that, “there is only one Chinese Government." The US recognises its formal ties with China. With Taiwan the US shares independent strong “unofficial” relations.