Taiwan today called on the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to invite it to the agency’s triennial assembly later this month, citing the nation's importance to regional and global air traffic.
“Taiwan occupies a key position in both regional and global civil aviation,” Deputy Ministry of Transportation and Communications Lin Kuo-shian (林國顯) told a joint press event with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Lin said that the Taipei Flight Information Region, managed solely by Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA), handled more than 1.85 million flights in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Photo: Fang Wei-li, Taipei Times
Last year, this figure stood at 1.64 million flights, CAA data showed.
“Participation would allow Taiwan to stay updated on the latest aviation developments and ensure the highest level of flight safety,” Lin said.
Taiwan last attended the ICAO assembly in 2013 as a guest of the council president, at a time of warmer cross-strait relations under the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration.
Taiwan is not a UN member and therefore not part of ICAO, a specialized UN agency.
The ICAO's 42nd assembly would be held from Sept. 23 to Oct. 3 at its headquarters in Montreal, Canada.
At the same event, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ger Baushuan (葛葆萱) said Taiwan would seek international support during the 80th session of the UN General Assembly, which opens today in New York.
The high-level debate runs from Sept. 23 to 27.
Ger said Taiwan’s government would again ask its diplomatic allies and partners to voice support for the country’s inclusion in the UN system, either through speeches at the assembly or letters to UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
He added that Taiwan would also step up efforts to counter Beijing’s “misuse” of UN Resolution 2758, which recognized the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the UN representative in 1971, but did not address Taiwan’s status.
“The resolution does not authorize the PRC to represent Taiwan in the UN system, nor does it state that Taiwan is part of the PRC,” Ger said. “Only the government elected by the people of Taiwan can represent Taiwan internationally.”
Resolution 2758 led to the PRC entering the UN and Taiwan leaving the multilateral body.
Since then, Taiwan has been excluded from the UN and its affiliated agencies.
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