US lawmakers from both houses of the US Congress on Friday separately called for Taiwan’s participation in the upcoming International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Assembly and the 80th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA).
In a letter to ICAO president Salvatore Sciacchitano, US House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast and Ranking Member Gregory Meeks, along with 19 other members, urged the organization to formally invite Taiwan to participate in the meeting that starts on Tuesday and is to run until Oct. 3 in Montreal, Canada.
As ICAO’s mandate is to enhance global civil aviation safety and security, “the inclusion of committed and cooperative stakeholders such as Taiwan must serve as a fundamental principle,” they said.
Photo: AFP
Taiwan administers the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) — one of about 300 such regions worldwide — overseeing 18 international and four domestic routes, the letter said.
The FIR last year supported services from 90 airlines operating 285 passenger and cargo routes linking Taiwan with 117 cities.
“While Taiwan endeavors to maintain the highest standard of civil aviation, Taiwan remains excluded from ICAO’s technical meetings and secure platforms, leaving it without access to critical aviation safety information and undermining international aviation standards,” the lawmakers said.
China has repeatedly encroached on Taiwan’s airspace, unilaterally designating danger zones, reserving areas for military drills and opening new flight routes near the median line of the Taiwan Strait, the letter said.
These actions are inconsistent with ICAO standards, create dangerous precedents and heighten the risk of avoidable aviation incidents, the lawmakers said, adding that as the organization is entrusted with deconfliction and aviation safety, ICAO cannot fulfill its mandate while excluding Taiwan’s experience, perspective and participation.
“Taiwan’s inclusion in the 42nd ICAO Assembly is a matter of US national interest and international aviation security. We recommend that an invitation be promptly extended to Taiwan, and we look forward to receiving confirmation without delay,” they said.
Meanwhile, US senators Jim Risch and Jeanne Shaheen, chairman and ranking member of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee respectively, released a joint statement on Friday voicing support for Taiwan’s participation in international organizations, ahead of the start of the UN General Assembly.
“As countries gather in New York, it is critical that the United States and others around the world counter the People’s Republic of China’s [PRC] misrepresentation of UN General Assembly Resolution 2758,” they said.
UN Resolution 2758 led to the PRC entering the UN and the Republic of China leaving the multilateral body. Since then, Taiwan has been excluded from the UN and its affiliated agencies.
Risch and Shaheen said that the resolution only talks about the representation of the “China” seat at the UN and does not address Taiwan’s political status or its ability to engage with UN entities.
“China has sought to falsely conflate UNGA Resolution 2758 with its ‘one China’ principle and rewrite official UN documents to support its illegitimate claims to Taiwan,” they said. “The United States will continue to support Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations, and reject China’s efforts to rewrite history and diplomatically isolate Taiwan.”
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