The alert warns of a ‘missile flyover Taiwan’; however, Taiwan’s foreign minister assures people it was a satellite.

The mobile phone alert was sent on Tuesday as Chinese state media confirmed the launch of a science satellite. The alarm came amid preparations in Taiwan for elections next week. China, which claims the island as its own, is watching closely and warns that the result could further raise tension in the Taiwan Strait.

“China launched [a] satellite which flew over the southern airspace,” said the alert sent out in Chinese. “Public, please beware of your safety.”

An English-language version announced it as an “air raid alert” and warned of a “missile flyover Taiwan airspace”.

However, the defence ministry later apologised for the mistake, saying the default message in English had not been updated.

The alert came as Foreign Minister Joseph Wu was holding a news conference in Taipei ahead of the presidential and parliamentary elections on Saturday.

He assured those present that the alert was for a satellite.

“When a rocket is openly flying in our sky, some of their tubes or debris will fall in this region,” Wu told reporters. “That’s the reason why our national alert centre will issue this kind of alert. It has happened before.”

Chinese state news agency Xinhua said China had launched “a new astronomical satellite” called the Einstein Probe from the southwestern province of Sichuan.

The satellite will be used to make observations such as “mysterious transient phenomena in the universe comparable to the flickering of fireworks”.

China has had a near-daily military presence around Taiwan in the run-up to the election, with fighter jets, naval vessels and drones spotted in or above the narrow stretch of water dividing the pair.

Frontrunner Lai Ching-te, Taiwan’s current vice president, has accused Beijing of using “all means” to influence the vote.

China has described the election as a choice between war and peace.