The US is encouraging China to “engage and consult” with Taipei on four new civilian air routes Beijing wants to open over the Taiwan Strait.
“Our primary focus is on maintaining and enhancing international aviation safety,” US Department of State deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said. “That’s obviously our primary focus when we talk about air routes; it’s in the interest of all countries and regions around the world.”
Harf was answering a question at the state department’s daily news conference on Wednesday about Taiwan’s strong opposition to Beijing’s plans for the routes.
She confirmed that the department had “noted” reports that China was preparing to declare new air routes over the Taiwan Strait.
“We do encourage China to engage and consult with the parties affected by the newly declared air routes in the Taiwan Strait to ensure that air safety concerns are addressed,” Harf said. “Obviously, that’s of utmost importance to us.”
Asked whether she thought the new routes would violate US interests, Harf refused to speculate.
“I don’t have much more analysis than what I just said — we believe that the safety issue is the primary one,” Harf said.
Reporting that Taiwanese authorities were protesting the proposed Chinese air routes because they could conflict with Taiwan’s own routes, Voice of America on Wednesday said that the complaint against Beijing “comes amid growing tensions in overall relations, despite a six-year thaw.”
The news outlet said that China told the UN International Civil Aviation Organization this week that it would utilize the new flight paths beginning in March.
Taipei says the routes conflict with its existing flight routes.
“Political observers say Taiwan will make more protests like this in 2015 to resist China due to increasingly vocal public resentment,” the news outlet continued.
The Bloomberg business wire quoted Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments fellow Iskander Rehman speculating on Taipei’s possible concerns.
“Observers in Taipei have long cautioned that seemingly more incremental, coercive measures undertaken by Beijing in the vicinity of Taiwan could serve as a means of discreetly laying the groundwork for future aggression,” Rehman said.
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) said a magnitude 4.9 earthquake that struck off the coast of eastern Taiwan yesterday was an independent event and part of a stress-adjustment process. The earthquake occurred at 4:47pm, with its epicenter at sea about 45.4km south of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 5.9km, the CWA said. The quake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in several townships in Yilan and neighboring Hualien County, where it measured 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the CWA said. Lin Po-yu (林柏佑), a division chief at the CWA's Seismological Center, told a news conference
RSS