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.
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