China’s short notice that it is to implement a no-fly zone north of Taiwan from Sunday to Tuesday shows its disregard for international rules and poses a threat to regional flight security, experts said late on Wednesday.
Beijing informed Taiwan on Tuesday that it planned to implement a no-fly zone from 9am to 2pm from Sunday to Tuesday for the purposes of “conducting aerospace activities,” the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said.
The ministry said that the short notice given by Beijing, which was less than the standard seven days, flouted international norms and jeopardized flight safety in the area.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications
Amid protests from Taipei, Beijing announced it would reduce the duration to 27 minutes on Sunday, averting wider travel disruption, the ministry said.
The no-fly zone is to be enforced about 85 nautical miles (157km) off the north of Taiwan and within Taiwan’s Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) and northern air defense identification zone (ADIZ), the military said.
South Korea and Japan, which China also briefed on its plans, said the no-fly zone is being implemented due to concerns over falling debris from a satellite launch.
Before setting up a no-fly zone, China should have issued a notice to air missions, or NOTAM, at least seven days before the set date, aviation safety specialist Peng Szu-ming (彭斯民) said.
While such no-fly zones are normally set up within a country’s territorial space, they sometimes overlap with other countries’ FIRs and ADIZs, said Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research.
In such cases, the country in question is required to inform nearby authorities in a timely manner beforehand so that they can make preparations for aviation safety, Su said.
China’s announcement did not follow international rules and Beijing deliberately set up the no-fly zone in the Taipei FIR, one of the busiest flight routes in the area, he said, adding that its actions pose a serious threat to regional and international aviation safety.
Chinese authorities only told Taiwan of the no-fly zone on Tuesday, six days instead of the standard seven days, Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Chi Wen-jong (祁文中) said.
China’s behavior showed a disregard for international regulations and norms, Su said, adding that Beijing was using the no-fly zone to attain regional hegemony and assert its claims over Taiwan.
Peng said that despite agreeing to cut short the duration of the no-fly zone, China had already successfully demonstrated to the world its ability to disrupt and block air traffic northeast of Taiwan.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Sung Wen-ti (宋文笛), a specialist on Taiwanese politics and cross-strait relations at Australian National University, said it was unusual that Beijing changed its plan following a complaint from Taiwan.
The change might be a sign of coordination problems within Beijing, he said.
“The aviation agency may have called for a more extended no-fly zone period out of technical necessity, but economic and foreign affairs portfolios subsequently scaled it back to minimize regional pushback,” he said.
The original schedule would have overlapped with the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting in Karuizawa, Japan, that is to be held from Sunday to Tuesday.
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
The Ministry of Culture yesterday officially launched the “We TAIWAN” cultural program on Osaka’s Nakanoshima sandbank, with the program’s mascot receiving overwhelming popularity. The cultural program, which runs from Aug. 2 to 20, was designed to partner with and capitalize on the 2025 World Expo that is being held in Osaka, Japan, from April 13 to Oct. 13, the ministry said. On the first day of the cultural program, its mascot, a green creature named “a-We,” proved to be extremely popular, as its merch was immediately in high demand. Long lines formed yesterday for the opening
The Taipei Summer Festival is to begin tomorrow at Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕), featuring four themed firework shows and five live music performances throughout the month, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said today. The festival in the city’s Datong District (大同) is to run until Aug. 30, holding firework displays on Wednesdays and the final Saturday of the event. The first show is scheduled for tomorrow, followed by Aug. 13, 20 and 30. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Disney Pixar's movie Toy Story, the festival has partnered with Walt Disney Co (Taiwan) to host a special themed area on
BE CAREFUL: The virus rarely causes severe illness or death, but newborns, older people and those with medical conditions are at risk of more severe illness As more than 7,000 cases of chikungunya fever have been reported in China’s Guangdong Province this year, including 2,892 new cases last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said it is monitoring the situation and considering raising the travel notice level, which might be announced today. The CDC issued a level 1 travel notice, or “watch,” for Guangdong Province on July 22, citing an outbreak in Foshan, a manufacturing hub in the south of the province, that was reported early last month. Between July 27 and Saturday, the province reported 2,892 new cases of chikungunya, reaching a total of 7,716
RSS