Beijing notified Taipei it would impose a no-fly zone from for three days from April 16-18, but Taiwan said this was later reduced after protests

 
Taiwan says it had successfully urged China to drastically narrow its plan to close air space north of the island.

Thereby averting wider travel disruption in a period of high tension in the region due to China’s military exercises.

China has not commented on the no-fly zone.

But South Korea, which was briefed on the plans, said the decision was taken due to an object falling from a satellite launch vehicle.

Beijing initially notified Taipei it would impose a no-fly zone from for three days from April 16-18, but Taiwan said this was later reduced to a period of just 27 minutes on Sunday morning after it protested.

The development follows days of intense military drills that China has staged around Taiwan in response to President Tsai Ing-wen’s meeting with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California last week.

It was against this backdrop that word of the air space closure stoked fears of travel disruption across the region.

When China imposed air space restrictions during military drills last August, there were significant disruptions to flights in the region.