The long-running aviation dispute between Taiwan and the Philippines took a dramatic turn yesterday when Taiwan sus-pended direct flights to the Philippines, less than a month after restoring air links.
The drama was heightened when an EVA cargo plane was refused entry into Philippine airspace early yesterday without prior warning -- apparently because the pilot had not been aware of the suspension. The aircraft was forced to turn back to Taipei.
Taiwan's decision comes after Manila unilaterally abrogated an interim agreement signed on Jan. 28 to temporarily restore flights, claiming that Taipei was unwilling to resume negotiations on aviation matters.
Authorities in Taiwan have issued a strong protest against Manila's decision to withdraw the agreement, which restored air service based on the conditions of the 1996 Air Service Agreement.
"We cannot accept Manila's unilateral termination, which totally negates the interim agreement. We will not compromise," said Henry Chen
Late Tuesday night, the Philippines' Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) issued Resolution 31 claiming that there was "no meeting of the minds" between the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) and therefore there is "no interim agreement between MECO and TECO to speak of."
Around 600 passengers were stranded at Chiang Kai-shek International Airport when China Airlines and EVA Air canceled their flights to Manila.
"The Philippines is canceling the agreement on the eve of Taiwan's election. Such action is unfriendly and totally against international practice," said the director of Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA), Chang Yu-hern
But Philippine officials said the timing was coincidental and admitted that the termination could have been implemented at a later date.
"There was no malice attached to the action," said MECO chairwoman Eva Estrada Kalaw.
"We tried to talk, to meet and to understand, but there seems to be no agreement," she told the Taipei Times.
She said the termination could have been delayed to a later date "but the CAB choose [to do so] before then."
A Philippine official who wishes to remain unnamed said that Manila felt "snubbed" by Taipei's unwillingness to resume consultations as scheduled on March 1.
"We asked to meet with them [TECO] on March 1 but they canceled," said Kalaw.
"Since there is no meeting of minds, we will revert back to the old position until we can resolve the issue," she said.
In the interim agreement, the Philippines agreed to reinstate the 1996 aviation agreement which allowed Taiwan carriers to load 9,600 passengers per week.
Taiwan agreed to limit its Taipei-Manila flights to 4,800 seats per week but left the Kaohsiung-Manila route open for further negotiation.
However, Manila claims that there has been a "misunderstanding" and the 4,800 quota includes Taipei and Kaohsiung.
"We canceled the March 1 meeting because Manila still has not explained to us why they rescinded on the Taipei-Kaohsiung route," said Shih Ting (
Despite MOFA's strong words, the ministry was vague on whether it will take retaliatory measures.
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