The government has made its stance on China’s unilateral activation of northbound flights on aviation route M503 known to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) personally and via several diplomatic allies, but has yet to receive a response, a government source with knowledge of the matter said.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the issue, said Beijing was required by ICAO regulations to coordinate with affected parties before launching new routes, but it failed to do so before unilaterally activating northbound flights on M503 and three new extension routes — W121, W122 and W123 — along China’s southeast coast on Thursday last week.
Under Item 4.2.6 of the ICAO’s Air Traffic Services Planning Manual, changes to any route should be made only after it has been coordinated with all parties concerned.
Photo: CNA, courtesy of the Presidential Office
“The ICAO has been made aware of the matter... However, the organization is reluctant to intervene, but we still have to let our stance be known,” the source said, adding that as Taiwan is not a member of the UN agency on civil aviation matters, “our voice can hardly be heard.”
Asked whether the government planned to take further action, the source said that several ICAO member states friendly to Taiwan have spoken out in its favor, but declined to reveal whether he was referring to the US and Japan.
“We have also notified all our representative offices overseas to relay the government’s hope to other nations that their airlines refrain from using the controversial M503 route,” the source added.
Due to Chinese pressure, Taiwan has been excluded from the triennial ICAO assembly, except in 2013, when warmer cross-strait ties under then-president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) paved way for the nation’s attendance at the conference as a “guest.”
In January 2015, after receiving approval from the ICAO, China announced the activation of the M503 route — which, at its nearest point, is 7.8km from the Taiwan Strait’s median line — and the three extension routes, prompting protests from Taipei.
Following cross-strait negotiations an agreement was reached in March 2015 that China would only operate southbound flights on M503 and put the launch of the three extension routes on hold.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Andrew Lee (李憲章) yesterday told a news conference in Taipei that as the matter pertains to aviation routes, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications was in close contact with the ICAO.
“As a news release issued after a national security meeting chaired by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Sunday stated, the foreign ministry should initiate international campaigns and engage with foreign governments to secure the support of other nations and win the battle for international public opinion,” Lee said. “We will continue with such efforts.”
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
‘FALLACY’: Xi’s assertions that Taiwan was given to the PRC after WWII confused right and wrong, and were contrary to the facts, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday called Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) claim that China historically has sovereignty over Taiwan “deceptive” and “contrary to the facts.” In an article published on Wednesday in the Russian state-run Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Xi said that this year not only marks 80 years since the end of World War II and the founding of the UN, but also “Taiwan’s restoration to China.” “A series of instruments with legal effect under international law, including the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Declaration have affirmed China’s sovereignty over Taiwan,” Xi wrote. “The historical and legal fact” of these documents, as well
RSS