The US Senate unanimously passed a resolution on Wednesday in support of Taiwan being granted observer status in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), to enable it to play a part in maintaining global air transport security.
It was the first time the Senate has passed a resolution supporting Taiwan’s participation in the ICAO, Taiwan’s representative office in the US said.
The resolution, initiated by Senator Robert Menendez, a Democrat, who is co-chair of the Senate Taiwan Caucus, stated that Taiwan’s participation in the ICAO would contribute to “the success of a global strategy to address aviation security threats based on effective international cooperation.”
“The United States Government should take a leading role in garnering international support for the granting of observer status to Taiwan in the ICAO for the purpose of such participation,” it read.
The Taipei Flight Information Region, under the jurisdiction of Taiwan, covers 176,000 square nautical miles (325,952km2) of airspace and offers air traffic control services to more than 1.35 million flights every year, the resolution said.
In addition, the resolution stated that Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is the world’s eighth and 18th-largest airport by international cargo volume and by number of international passengers respectively.
Excluding Taiwan from the ICAO has prevented the organization from developing a truly global strategy to address security threats, the resolution stated.
Taiwan will still need the approval of other member countries in the ICAO to gain observer status.
The last time the US Senate took a stand on Taiwan’s participation in the international community was in 2004, when US senators passed a resolution backing Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Assembly as an observer, the representative office said.
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