Taipei: A Chinese carrier rocket flew through the southwestern section of Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) Thursday but remained outside the Earth’s atmosphere and posed no threat to Taiwan, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND). The rocket, launched at 5:37 p.m. from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwestern China’s Sichuan Province, was carrying a satellite as it headed toward the western Pacific, the MND said.

According to Focus Taiwan, the defense ministry said it closely tracked the launch using its joint intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems, and appropriate alert and response measures were in place throughout. The MND had announced the previous day that the launch was expected to occur at 5:35 p.m. on Thursday, with the rocket passing through Taiwan’s ADIZ on a western Pacific trajectory.