Taiwan has taken its objection to China’s plan to open new flight routes in the Taiwan Strait to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lin (林永樂) said yesterday.
The government has also conveyed its position on the matter to major countries and urged Beijing to continue negotiations on the issue with Taipei, Lin said.
“The mainland should not implement the new routes before the negotiations are completed,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee.
Photo: CNA
The unilateral move by China is totally unacceptable to Taiwan, he said, adding that since Beijing has yet to file a formal application with the UN agency, the plan can still be changed.
At a separate meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, officials said that Taipei had conveyed to Beijing its position on the issue and Beijing had indicated that it was willing to communicate with the government.
According to the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA), Beijing announced an updated aviation safety bulletin on Monday morning that added four new air routes near China’s southeast coast. Among them, the north-south M503 route runs nearly parallel to the median line of the Taiwan Strait, coming as close as 7.8km. The three other routes — W121, W122 and W123 — run east-west and serve as feeder routes for the M503, with W122 and W123 potentially affecting flights to Taiwan’s outlying islands of Matsu and Kinmen.
Beijing has indicated that it plans to start using these new routes on March 5, the CAA said.
Lawmakers questioned the potential safety issues engendered by the establishment of these new routes.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津) said that a preliminary investigation into the Dec. 28 crash of AirAsia Flight QZ8501 showed that the pilot had asked for permission to fly at a higher altitude to avoid a major storm, but the request was denied because there were other aircraft above him.
Yeh said that flights to Kinmen and Matsu might be similarly at risk if the air routes of Taiwan and China overlap.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) said that although Taiwan is not a member of the ICAO, it can still communicate with the Beijing government through the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) and the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF).
The new air routes would not only threaten aviation safety, but also national security, she said.
DPP Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) expressed her dissatisfaction with the way the government had reacted to Beijing’s unilateral move.
Kuan said that US Department of State deputy spokesperson Marie Harf had also urged China to communicate with all parties that would be affected by these new routes because the issues are important to Washington.
“The ministry only asked the CAA director-general [Jean Shen (沈啟)], who is to retire on Friday, to respond, while the MAC also indicated that cross-strait negotiations would continue as planned without any disruption,” Kuan said.
Top US officials cannot express concern over this matter if Taiwan does not take tougher action, she said, adding that the incident has exposed the government’s ignorance of political maneuvering.
“How can the US play an eagle if the government is as gentle as a dove?” Kuan asked.
CAA Deputy Director-General Fang Chih-wen (方志文) said in response that the agency had conducted two informal negotiations with Chinese government officials at the end of last month, in which the agency had clearly said that China should not interfere with Taiwan’s air routes.
“Both the MAC and the SEF had asked China to move further west from the M503 route, so that there would not be any safety issue when there is unstable weather,” Fang said.
Acting Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Chien-yu (陳建宇) said that Taiwan still has time to negotiate with China, adding that China is willing to negotiate.
In Beijing, China said on Wednesday that Taiwan should not be so suspicious of its intentions on opening new commercial air routes.
Chinese state media outlets quoted China’s Taiwan Affairs Office as saying that Taipei must be “more understanding and less suspicious” about the four routes.
Additional reporting by Reuters
LANDMARK: Taiwan and Haiti are set to mark the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations next year, the president said, adding that the two would deepen bilateral ties President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday pledged continued support for Haiti, particularly in food aid and healthcare, as the Caribbean nation faces ongoing social and economic challenges. Speaking at a meeting with Haitian Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Victor Harvel Jean-Baptiste, Lai said Taiwan would step up bilateral cooperation to help improve Haiti’s social infrastructure. Taiwan would continue supporting Haiti through initiatives aimed at improving healthcare, food security and overall development, he said. Taiwan and Haiti are set to mark the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations next year, the president said, adding that the two nations would continue to support each other and deepen bilateral
MONTHS OF WORK: The core mission of Taiwan’s negotiators is to safeguard the national interest, public health and food security, President William Lai said Taiwan is still hoping to reach a deal with the US in ongoing tariff talks after it was not among the first batch of 14 nations to receive tariff notification letters. The US issued its first batch of tariff notification letters on Monday, but Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) yesterday confirmed that Taiwan has yet to receive one. Vice Premier Cheng Li-chun (鄭麗君) and Minister Without Portfolio Yang Jen-ni (楊珍妮), who lead the Office of Trade Negotiations, are in the US negotiating the tariff issue, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The US in early April announced sweeping tariffs on imported goods, including
The New York Yankees are to host Taiwanese Heritage Day for the first time this year, the event’s organizer announced on Monday. The annual event, which has been held nearly every year since 2005, has often been hosted by the New York Mets at Citi Field, but this year it would be hosted by the New York Yankees on Sept. 10 at Yankee Stadium, organizer ROF International Sport Marketing wrote on social media. The event, which is being co-organized by the Taiwanese Chambers of Commerce of North America (TCCNA), is one of many cultural events hosted by the Yankees, the announcement said,
‘A SERIOUS THREAT’: Japan has expressed grave concern over the Strait’s security over the years, which demonstrated Tokyo’s firm support for peace in the area, an official said China’s military drills around Taiwan are “incompatible” with peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Takeshi Iwaya said during a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi (王毅) on Thursday. “Peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is important for the international community, including Japan,” Iwaya told Wang during a meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN-related Foreign Ministers’ Meetings in Kuala Lumpur. “China’s large-scale military drills around Taiwan are incompatible with this,” a statement released by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday cited Iwaya as saying. The Foreign Ministers’ Meetings are a series of diplomatic
RSS