The Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said that China started testing its proposed M503 flight route at 11am yesterday, adding that Beijing had informed Taiwan about the test in advance, while the Ministry of National Defense (MND) and the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said they were closely monitoring the situation.
The test was carried out by Chinese aircraft following the route to test the accuracy of guidance given by navigational facilities, it added.
“We have information on how China planned to test the M503 flight route in the Shanghai flight information region [FIR] and have relayed the information to related agencies through existing mechanisms,” the administration said.
Separately, MND spokesperson David Lo (羅紹和) said that the military closely monitored the test, and could respond immediately in the case of an emergency.
MAC Deputy Minister Wu Mei-hung (吳美紅) said that China had Taiwan’s consent before the test.
China had said that it would start using the route on March 5.
However, Taipei said that the move was “unilateral” and “unacceptable,” because Beijing had not discussed safety issues with Taipei per customary practice among members of the International Civil Aviation Organization.
Although the new route is within the purview of the Shanghai FIR, it sparked security concerns in Taiwan as it is just 7.8km from the median line of the Taiwan Strait.
Taiwan on March 2 said that the M503 flight route would become official only after China conducted flight tests, adding that China has agreed to move the final flight path 6 nautical miles (11.1km) to the west of the original route and to use the route solely for one-way flights from north to south.
Beijing has said that the flight paths were “necessary for economic and social development, as well as flight security,” citing congestion of its A470 path as the main reason for plotting M503.
Meanwhile, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) spokesman Cheng Yun-peng (鄭運鵬) said that even though the council said China conducted the trial flight of the M503 route with the Taiwanese government’s approval, China can always make threats and get its way.
“China was able to force Taiwan to go along with its unilateral move to open new flight routes without first negotiating them with Taiwan, which is a breach of the spirit of international civil aviation conventions,” he said.
“The DPP has lodged a formal protest against China for forcing the Taiwanese government to accept its deal,” he said.
“The DPP insists that all cross-strait agreements should be concluded bilaterally, especially where international conventions are relevant,” he added.
Also, the DPP asked the MND to expound on dangers the route could pose to national security, he said.
Additional reporting by Chen Wei-han and Loa Iok-sin
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
IMPORTANT BACKER: China seeks to expel US influence from the Indo-Pacific region and supplant Washington as the global leader, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said China is preparing for war to seize Taiwan, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said in Washington on Friday, warning that Taiwan’s fall would trigger a regional “domino effect” endangering US security. In a speech titled “Maintaining the Peaceful and Stable Status Quo Across the Taiwan Strait is in Line with the Shared Interests of Taiwan and the United States,” Chiu said Taiwan’s strategic importance is “closely tied” to US interests. Geopolitically, Taiwan sits in a “core position” in the first island chain — an arc stretching from Japan, through Taiwan and the Philippines, to Borneo, which is shared by
RSS