Beijing should immediately stop all flights on four civil aviation routes that were launched yesterday morning, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday, adding that aviation officials across the Taiwan Strait should begin negotiations on the issue as soon as possible.
“China must be held accountable for any serious consequences that would affect the cross-strait relations should it continue to allow the flights to operate,” MAC Minister Katharine Chang (張小月) said at a news conference in Taipei.
The aviation routes are northbound flights on the north-south M503 route, which is very close to the median line of the Taiwan Strait, as well as three east-west extension routes — W121, W122 and W123 — along the southeast coast of China.
China unilaterally created the routes in 2015 on the grounds that they would be used to alleviate flight congestion on its A470 route.
Both sides then reached an agreement in 2015 following negotiations between civil aviation officials that only southbound flights would be permitted on route M503 and that the three extension routes would not be activated until after the negotiations had been completed, Chang said.
However, China simultaneously activated the three extension routes and allowed northbound flights to operate on the M503 route yesterday morning without negotiating with Taipei in advance, Chang said.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
“We believe that China not only breached the terms of the 2015 agreement, but it is also attempting to cover its malicious intentions toward Taiwan — both politically and militarily — under the guise of civil aviation. The move has generated concerns that it could potentially change the ‘status quo’ across the Taiwan Strait,” she said.
Since both sides of the Taiwan Strait agreed to allow southbound flights use the M503 route in 2015, the actual rate of usage had been very low, Chang said.
Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) statistics show that about 60 to 70 flights use the southbound M503 route daily.
The council has informed China’s Taiwan Affairs Office about the nation’s position on this matter through established channels of communication, Chang said, adding that its appeals were made out concerns for aviation safety.
Flights on the M503 route do not only carry Taiwanese and Chinese passengers, they also carry passengers from other nations and their safety could be affected by the launch of the new routes, Chang said, adding that the council has yet to receive an official response from China.
The nation would take corresponding measures if China ignores those demands, Chang said, without naming specifics.
Asked when China informed Taiwan about the activation of these four routes, CAA Director-General Lin Kuo-hsien (林國顯) said that his agency was not informed about the change until about 8am yesterday, when Chinese aviation officials in Fuzhou and Xiamen contacted air traffic control personnel in Matsu and Kinmen.
China then made an official announcement about the routes at 10am, he said.
Lin said that the 2015 agreement clearly stipulates that the M503 route is only for southbound flights, which in reality should operate 6 nautical miles (11km) west of the route.
If flights have to deviate from the designated route due to inclement weather or other reasons, the flights should move west, he said.
“We have not negotiated over the issues involving northbound flights on the M503 route or the three extension routes, so we want [China] to avoid using them, otherwise our air traffic control officers would not know how to guide the flights in emergency situations,” Lin said.
The W122 route is very close to that used by flights between Taipei and Matsu, while the W123 route could clash with the route used by flights to Kinmen from either Tainan or Kaohsiung, he said.
“The routes are also very close to the radar control towers in Kinmen and Matsu. This is why we need to negotiate on these issues,” Lin said, adding that the CAA had informed the International Civil Aviation Organization and the US about the situation.
Deputy Minister of the Transportation and Communications Frank Fan (范植谷) said that it was unacceptable that China activated the routes without prior negotiations with Taiwan, adding that 80 international and domestic Taiwanese airlines have been notified to not use any of the routes.
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
Typhoon Usagi yesterday had weakened into a tropical storm, but a land warning issued by the Central Weather Administration (CWA) was still in effect in four areas in southern Taiwan. As of 5pm yesterday, Tropical Storm Usagi was over waters 120km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the southernmost tip of Taiwan proper, and was moving north at 9kph, CWA data showed. The storm was expected to veer northeast later yesterday. It had maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126kph, the data showed. The CWA urged residents of Kaohsiung, Pingtung County, Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) to remain alert to
ONE LAST TALK: While Xi said that Taiwan was a ‘red line,’ Biden, in what is likely his last meeting with Xi as president, called for an end to China’s military activity around Taiwan China’s military intimidation and economic coercion against Taiwan are the main causes of tensions that are destabilizing peace in the Taiwan Strait, Taipei said yesterday while thanking US President Joe Biden for expressing Washington’s firm stance of maintaining peace and stability in the region. Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) met on Saturday for their third meeting and their first talks in seven months on the sidelines of the APEC forum in Lima, Peru. It was likely Biden’s last meeting as president with Xi. During their conversation, Biden reiterated the US’ opposition to any unilateral change to the “status quo” from either
Taiwan would participate in the 2026 APEC summit to be hosted by China after Beijing promised it would ensure the personal safety of attendees, Taiwanese national security sources said yesterday. The APEC Leaders’ Machu Picchu Declaration announced yesterday said that China would host the APEC summit in 2026. Beijing proposed hosting the summit shortly before this year’s gathering began on Friday, a national security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Many APEC members expressed concerns about China hosting the event and said that prior communication over the decision was insufficient, the official said. Taiwan brought up concerns about legal “guidelines” China announced in
RSS