Taiwan will ask its diplomatic and unofficial allies to raise the issue of China’s decision to unilaterally launch a new flight route in the Taiwan Strait at the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) assembly in September, a diplomatic source said yesterday.
The move comes after China on Sunday unilaterally announced that it would open the northwest-southeast W121 flight route connecting Dongshan in Zhejiang Province to the M503 route along the Taiwan Strait.
The Mainland Affairs Council urged China to promptly begin talks through existing channels on its decision to launch the W121 route.
The Civil Aviation Administration said that China’s decision was “regrettable” and it would closely watch flights that would potentially be affected to ensure flight safety.
It was not the first time China has acted unilaterally in establishing flight routes, the source told reporters in Taipei on Tuesday.
Since China launched the M503 route in 2015, Taiwan has been in close discussions with its diplomatic allies and friendly nations to speak on its behalf, said the source, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“Every time China makes a unilateral decision in launching a flight path, Taiwan’s government will launch a protest and convey its clear stance to the ICAO via the help of allies and friendly countries, given that Taiwan is not a member of the ICAO,” they said.
The W122 and W123 paths, two other west-east paths to the south of W121, were opened at the same time as the M503 route was moved eastward early last year, following which the US, Canada, Japan, Sweden and the Netherlands expressed concern over China’s decision, the source said.
The nations spoke up not solely for Taiwan’s interests, but also for their own interests, because China contravened international rules that could put passenger safety at risk, the source said.
Despite the opposition, the routes remain in use, an indication that diplomatic pressure might be insufficient to sway China, even if ICAO regulations require that the creation, reduction or adjustment of flight routes be coordinated with the regions they pass through and relevant stakeholders, they said.
With the 42nd Session of the ICAO Assembly scheduled for late September at its headquarters in Montreal, Taiwan would again use the decisionmaking meeting as a platform to convey its stance on the flight path issue, the source said.
Taiwan would reiterate its call to be included in the ICAO system to contribute to international aviation safety, they added.
In related news, a US Department of State spokesperson on Sunday told reporters that the US expected cross-Taiwan Strait differences to be resolved “by peaceful means, free from coercion, in a manner acceptable to the people on both sides of the strait.”
The US’ stance related to cross-strait disputes was consistent, the spokesperson said.
“Issues related to civil aviation and safety in the Taiwan Strait should be decided through dialogue between both sides,” they said.
Michael Mazza, senior director for research at the Virginia-based Institute for Indo-Pacific Security, on Monday said that the unilateral opening of the flight routes represented symbolic and substantive actions from China.
In a symbolic way, China wants to use the routes to demonstrate sovereignty over the skies, hoping to make Taiwan feel isolated, as the ICAO will not object, Mazza said.
Substantively, the routes pose a national security concern to Taiwan, as they allow Chinese pilots who might be involved in potential military action against Taiwan to familiarize themselves with the Taiwan Strait, he said.
China might use the routes to approach Taiwanese airspace without raising alarms by disguising military aircraft as civilian carriers, he added.
“Overall, China’s air route machinations are part and parcel of a broader effort to pressure, envelop and complicate the defense of Taiwan,” he said.
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