Flights out of Taipei delayed after China launches satellite

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Flights out of northern Taiwan were delayed Sunday after China launched a rocket carrying a satellite that dropped debris into waters north of the capital Taipei. China had declared a 27-minute halt to flights over a section of the East China Sea, considerably shorter than the no-fly period over parts of three days it had originally announced. Taiwan said it strongly protested the notice and was able to get China to reduce the flight ban time from three days to 27 minutes on Sunday morning. While the satellite launch had no obvious military purpose, it comes after China held large-scale military drills in response to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s transit visit to the United States.