Five Southeast Asian nations yesterday said that they had agreed to share aviation data and information among themselves, including reports of severe turbulence, to help make air travel safer.
Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding, aiming to launch the plan by the end of the year, their civil aviation authorities said in a joint statement.
The agreement comes as air travel recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, which hammered tourism in the region.
Photo: AFP
The initiative was mooted last year, but it took time for the countries to agree on what to share and the draw up protocols that would govern data confidentiality.
“In a first-of-its kind initiative in the Asia-Pacific, the five states will collaborate and share de-identified safety data and safety information to identify safety hazards and trends, and develop mitigating measures to better manage safety risks,” the statement said.
The countries identified an initial seven categories to be shared, including collision warnings, deviations from altitudes assigned by air traffic controllers and activation of warning systems on the ground.
Reports of severe air turbulence, wind shear, bird strikes and the carriage of dangerous goods are also to be shared.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand would act as the “custodian” of the data and its Singapore counterpart the “data analyst,” the statement said.
The data, findings and recommendations from analyses of the information “shall not be used to support investigations of accidents and incidents, and shall not be used for punitive or enforcement purposes,” the statement said.
Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore Director-General Han Kok Juan said that he hoped other countries would join “to ensure safer skies for the traveling public.”
NETWORK-MAPPING PROJECT: The database contains 170 detailed files of Taiwanese politicians and about 23 million records of household registration data in Taiwan China has developed a network-mapping project targeting political figures and parties in Taiwan to monitor public opinion during elections and to craft tailored influence campaigns aimed at dividing Taiwanese society, according to documents leaked by Chinese technology firm GoLaxy (中科天璣). The documents, collected by Taipei-based Doublethink Lab, showed a database was specifically created to gather detailed information on Taiwanese political figures, including their political affiliations, job histories, birthplaces, residences, education, religion and a brief biography about them. Several notable Taiwanese politicians are in the database, including President William Lai (賴清德), former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍),
RECOGNITION: Former Fijian prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry said that Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy serves as a stabilizing force in the Indo-Pacific region Taiwan can lead the unification of the Chinese people, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former Polish president Lech Walesa said in Taipei yesterday, adding that as the world order is changing, peaceful discussion would find good solutions, and that the use of force and coercion would always fail. Walesa made the remarks during his keynote address at a luncheon of the Yushan Forum in Taipei, titled “Indo-Pacific Partnership Prospects: Taiwan’s Values, Technology and Resilience,” organized by the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Walesa said that he had been at the forefront of a big peaceful revolution and “if
UPGRADED MISSILE: The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology is reportedly to conduct a live-fire test of the Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missile on Thursday next week The US Army is planning to build new facilities to boost explosives production and strengthen its supply chain, a move aimed at addressing munitions shortages and supporting obligations to partners including Taiwan, Ukraine and Israel, Defense News reported. The army has issued a sources sought notice for a proposed Center of Excellence at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky, the report said. The facility would serve as a hub within the US industrial base for the production of key military explosives, including research department explosives (RDX) and high melting explosives (HMX), while also supporting research and development of next-generation materials. The proposed
SOUTH KOREA DISPUTE: If Seoul continues to ignore its request, Taiwan would change South Korea’s designation on its arrival cards, the foreign ministry said If South Korea does not reply appropriately to a request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, the government would take corresponding measures to change how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. Taipei has asked Seoul to change the wording. Since March 1, South Koreans who hold government-issued Alien Resident Certificates (ARC) have been identified as from “South Korea” rather than the “Republic of Korea,” the
RSS