The Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) yesterday said that Chinese airlines would not begin to use the flight route M503 on Thursday next week if a consensus is not reached between China and Taiwan before then.
CAA Director-General Lin Tyh-ming (林志明) confirmed that there had been no progress so far on this, adding that aviation officials would continue to negotiate until both sides reach a consensus on related issues.
Even though Beijing has said that Chinese flights are scheduled to start using the route on March 5, Lin said that the new policy would not be able to take effect because Taiwan would not be able enforce air safety regulations.
He reiterated that both sides need to reach a consensus first, and that any unilateral action would “hurt the feelings of Taiwanese and Chinese alike.”
However, Lin did not elaborate on what the agency would do to prevent Chinese flights from using the M503 route.
Mainland Affairs Council Deputy Minister Steve Lin (林祖嘉) said in his address to Taiwanese businesspeople based in China at a Lunar New Year event in Taipei yesterday that China should consider how Taiwanese have reacted to its unilateral decision to establish M503 and three other feeder routes over the Taiwan Strait.
Steve Lin said that both sides had called a halt to a visit by China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Minister Zhang Zhijun (張志軍) to Kinmen, which was supposed to take place on Feb. 7, follwing the crash of TransAsia Airways Flight GE235 on Feb. 4, and the fact that both sides have yet to complete negotiations on safety issues related to the establishment of four new aviation routes.
“We think both the air crash and the new aviation routes are part of the issue of aviation safety. The Chinese government should consider how Taiwanese have reacted to this important issue, respect how the people feel and communicate with us in a practical manner,” Steve Lin said.
Beijing surprised Taiwan last month by unilaterally announcing four new aviation routes on the west side of the Taiwan Strait. The M503 route is nearly parallel to the middle line of the Taiwan Strait, coming as close as 7.8km.
Taiwan bans flights that directly travel across the middle line of the Taiwan Strait due to national security concerns.
However, China has said that it is scheduled to begin using the M503 route at 12am on March 5.
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