MOFA appeals to U.S. over China air routes

Vice President Annette Lu disclosed Sunday China’s plan to add an air route 4.2 nautical miles west of the median of the Taiwan Strait that separates airspace between Taiwan and China, starting next January. Lu expressed fear that the new route may pose a danger to Taiwan air traffic safety, as it is likely to overlap existing ones between Taiwan and its outlying islands of Kinmen and Matsu.

“U.S. authorities believe this is a serious problem, and have agreed to discuss it,” acting spokesperson Phoebe Yeh said during MOFA’s regular news briefing.

“Such a plan can severely affect cross-strait stability and international flight safety,” she added, as various foreign airliners have also expressed their concerns to Chinese authorities.

Yeh added that Taiwan conveyed its reservations directly to the U.S. because the island is not a member of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which is the official institution responsible for planning international flight routes. She declined, however, to comment on whether the ICAO has already approved China’s new air route, noting that the government has not received any such information so far.

Although the specifics of the plan are still unclear, Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) officials stressed that the new route could pose a danger to air traffic safety in the Taiwan Strait. They have reported relevant information about the route available through channels in Hong Kong to the Cabinet-level Mainland Affairs Council, the authority in charge of cross-strait political issues.

Billy Chang, CAA’s director-general, said Monday in an interview with the Central News Agency that China’s growing economy has resulted in increasing demand for flights. He added that the planned route is aimed at addressing the already busy routes between Hong Kong and Shanghai.

The island’s air routes were planned prior to 1971 when the country was still a member of the United Nations, Chang went on, noting the Taiwan Strait median has been tacitly accepted by both Taipei and Beijing for decades.

Minister of National Defense Lee Tien-you said that day during a defense committee meeting at the legislature that the median serves the purpose of restraining both sides. He added that China has in the past deviated toward or even crossed the median during inclement weather conditions.

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