The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns.
Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side.
In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced planning and coordination to ensure smooth operations and safety.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
It said it has asked China, via existing liaison channels, to provide planning information to assess the impact of Xiangan airport on Kinmen airport.
“However, Chinese civil aviation authorities have not provided any information to us to date,” it added.
“China has an obligation to ensure that the newly built Xiamen Xiangan airport will not affect our airspace,” it said. “Prior communication and coordination are the first step to ensuring safety, and the Civil Aviation Administration calls on the Chinese air traffic control authorities to begin discussions with us promptly.”
Neither China’s Taiwan Affairs Office nor the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration immediately responded to requests for comment.
Kinmen airport mostly offers domestic flights, but has occasional international charters.
The Chinese government refuses to speak to President William Lai (賴清德), saying he is a “separatist.”
Officials have raised concerns that China could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan that would be rolled out early next year, and see Xiamen’s airports as potential part of that plan.
Taiwan and China have clashed over flight safety around outlying islands before, including over China’s opening of new flight routes in the Taiwan Strait that the government denounced as unilateral moves likewise made without consultation.
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