China to impose no-fly zone near Taiwan

China is preparing to send a no-fly zone north of Taiwan Three days of military training Around the island nation.

The ban will take effect on April 16, with the affected area falling within Taiwan’s air defense demarcation zone, the defense and transport ministries said on Wednesday.

According to Taiwan’s Ministry of Transport, “China has imposed flight bans on several international routes to limit flights due to ‘space activities’.”

The Chinese government has not said how it plans to implement the ban, and a foreign ministry spokesman said he was not aware of the matter.

Earlier, Reuters reported, citing four unnamed sources, that the first flight ban was expected to last for three days from April 16 to 18.

But Taiwan’s Ministry of Transport said after China protested, the closure was extended to a 27-minute window from 9:30 a.m. to 9:57 a.m. Sunday.

The no-fly zone has been confirmed in Japan and South Korea.

Beijing told Seoul it was related to an object falling from a launch vehicle set to land in northern Taiwan.

International flights to and from Asia and North America, as well as domestic flights from the main island of Taiwan, may be affected.

The bans follow more than a week of retaliation by Chinese President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan. Meet Kevin McCarthy, the speaker of the US House of Representativesin California.

China sees such meetings as a direct challenge to its claims on Taiwan, which the latter’s democratically elected government rejects. Taiwan has its own military, foreign policy and currency.

The Chinese army held Three days of live fire training around TaiwanExercising the “seal” of the island nation. At least 71 Chinese aircraft have crossed the median line in the sea between China and Taiwan.

Chinese J-15 fighter jets also approached Taiwan from the east in what appeared to be the first airstrike, far from China’s coast.

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China has conducted what the government calls “patrol operations” by inspecting ships in the Taiwan Strait.

The naval and air blockade of Taiwan – essentially cutting it off from the rest of the world – is one of Beijing’s most aggressive shows.

The recent moves add weight to China’s ruling Communist Party leader Xi Jinping’s repeated threats to annex Taiwan.

last summer, China has conducted its largest military exercise to date. When in August Mr. McCarthy’s predecessor, Nancy Pelosi, arrived in Taiwan And we met Ms. Tsai.

She became the most senior US politician to visit Taiwan in 25 years, angering Beijing.

After Ms Pelosi’s trip, Chinese authorities imposed controls on six areas of airspace around Taiwan – known as “danger zones” – for three days, prompting several flight cancellations.

Taiwan is a key supplier of the world’s semiconductors and represents a major flashpoint in a potential military conflict between the US and China as bilateral tensions escalate.