The Philippine government has agreed to reinstate a 1996 aviation agreement in an effort to restart formal negotiations with Taiwan over direct air links which have been suspended since October of last year.
Manila's de-facto ambassador in Taipei, Rodolfo Reyes, told the Taipei Times yesterday that the Philippine government hopes to begin formal talks with Taiwan next month based on the 1996 aviation agreement -- which it unilaterally scrapped last year -- resulting in the suspension of direct flights between the two sides.
"That would be a good start," Reyes said, when asked if the new round of negotiations would be based on the existing air pact.
"I feel [the negotiations] would have to stay very close to the 1996 agreement," he said.
Reyes' comments follow a state-of-the-nation address by Philippine President Joseph Estrada earlier this week, where he specifically instructed officials to quickly resolve the dispute.
"We will reshape our aviation policies to promote primarily the interest of the economy," Estrada said on Monday.
The suspension of direct flights has also caused a sharp drop in Taiwanese tourist arrivals in the Philippines and made travel more expensive for Philippine expatriate workers in Taiwan since the fastest route now includes a stopover in Hong Kong.
As of March, Philippine workers made up an estimated 112,859 or 37.4 percent of the total foreign labor force in Taiwan.
Reyes told the Taipei Times he has issued a letter to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Manila -- Taiwan's de-facto embassy there -- on Tuesday expressing MECO's wish to officially resume negotiations in mid-August.
"On our level, we can arrive at a compromise. The 1996 agreement will be implemented in full force ... maybe some modification will be made on the number of seats or flights," Reyes said.
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"Neither side has benefited from the suspension," Chan told the Taipei Times.
"There will be give and take from both sides in devising a new aviation agreement," he said, adding that direct flights will remain suspended until both sides can arrive at a new air pact.
The aviation dispute first began when Philippine Airlines accused Taiwan's EVA Air and China Airlines of exceeding the passenger quota in the 1996 aviation pact by using bigger aircraft than allowed.
Direct flights were temporarily resumed in February when both sides signed an interim agreement but were soon suspended again when Taipei and Manila clashed over the interpretation of the 1996 aviation pact.
In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs remains cautious towards Manila's initiative, insisting that more details on the negotiations must be first laid on the table before talks can begin.
"We have received the letter but it is short on details," said one ministry official involved in the air dispute.
Taiwan authorities have shied away from immediately beginning formal negotiations due to Manila's constant shifts in position over the course of settling the air dispute.
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