Several lawmakers from Germany and Italy on Friday raised concerns over China pressuring three island countries to revoke overflight rights for President William Lai’s (賴清德) charter, which led to the cancelation of his planned trip to Eswatini this week.
On Tuesday, less than one day before Lai was to travel to Taiwan’s sole African diplomatic ally, Eswatini, the Presidential Office announced it had been forced to suspend the visit, citing “economic coercion” by China, after nations on the flight path of Lai’s trip, Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar, had rescinded their overflight permissions.
German Member of Parliament (MP) Klaus-Peter Willsch expressed concern on social media that China’s growing political pressure was extending to international air travel and said countries should not remain silent.
Photo: Screen grab from the Eswatini government’s Facebook page
Willsch, who is also chairman of the German parliamentary aviation and space group, said Lai’s flight was made impossible at short notice, because Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar, under the influence of Beijing, refused the to provide necessary overflight rights.
“The process is clear evidence of China’s growing political pressure, even in international air travel,” he said. “When flying rights are denied for geopolitical motives, it is a direct attack on the basic principles of the Chicago Convention.”
Whoever instrumentalizes those principles jeopardizes safety, stability and trust in global aviation, he added.
Taiwan has for years been subject to air traffic pressure from Beijing, Willsch said, adding that it was depressing to see that Taipei continues to be excluded from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), although he has repeatedly advocated for its inclusion.
“Silence is not an option,” he said, adding that he supports Taiwan, a lighthouse of democracy and an essential partner in international aviation, inclusion in the ICAO.
Separately, Italian Senate Vice President Gian Marco Centinaio said Lai, who was democratically elected in Taiwan, and all Taiwanese should be able to enjoy the right to travel freely and maintain international relations with its diplomatic allies.
Several Italian lawmakers also voiced concerns and support for Taiwan, such as Italian Senator Isabella De Monte, who called the incident “an act of coercion that wounds international diplomacy.”
Italian MP Alessandro Cattaneo said that “when political pressure dictates who can fly and who cannot, it’s not just a flight that’s blocked, it’s diplomacy that’s undermined. What happened on the route to Eswatini is a serious precedent.”
Meanwhile, Italian MP Fabrizio Benzoni called it “a worrying episode that raises doubts about respect for international rules and diplomatic freedom,” and said “Taiwan must be able to dialogue with the world without interference.”
In Taipei, the French Office in Taipei (Bureau Francais de Taipei) and the German Institute in Taiwan called for safe, orderly and predictable civil aviation operations.
France’s and Germany’s representative offices in Taiwan issued the same statement on social media, saying: “We recall that decisions related to the management of airspace should be guided by considerations of safety and stability.”
“Overflight rights constitute a fundamental aspect of international civil aviation. We attach great importance to maintaining safe, orderly and predictable civil aviation operations, in accordance with the Chicago Convention,” they said.
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