Taiwan warns vs China flight path change
TAIPEI: Taiwan on Wednesday condemned China’s decision to adjust an aviation route that runs through the Taiwan Strait, warning that the change could impact stability in the sensitive waterway.
The Taiwanese Defense Ministry’s statement came a day after China’s civil aviation authority said it was introducing changes to flights headed southward along the M503 route beginning February 1.
The move is aimed at improving efficiency in a congested area, the Chinese authority said.
However, Taipei’s Defense Ministry branded the adjustment as “unilateral and arbitrary.”
The move, it warned, could “lead to an escalation in tensions,” urging Beijing to “immediately” reverse the decision.
The statement also came as Taipei’s military concluded two-day air and sea drills aimed at preparing Taiwan for a potential Chinese attack, and at boosting public confidence in the island’s ability to defend itself.
“Any unilateral irrational action could very easily escalate tensions and sabotage stability in the Taiwan Strait region,” Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Sun Li-fang told reporters at Tsuoying naval base in the island’s south.
In a daily report, the ministry said seven Chinese warplanes and four naval vessels were detected around Taiwan in the 24-hour period ending at 6 a.m. on Wednesday. It also reported a Chinese balloon off its northern coast.
Transport Minister Wang Kwotsai also warned that the route runs close to Taipei’s flight information region — just 4.2 nautical miles at its nearest point.
“When the weather is bad, (a plane) might fly east, and this could clash with our civil and military aircraft,” he told reporters.
Route M503 had sparked an outcry in Taiwan when China launched it in 2015, given its proximity to the median line that runs through the Taiwan Strait.
China, which claims the self-ruled, democratic island as part of its territory and does not recognize the median line, reiterated its position on Wednesday.
“Route M503 is a civil route,” China’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Chen Binhua said, adding that there is no “so-called median line.”
“This route was launched to alleviate congestion in the relevant airspace and ensure aviation safety,” he added.
The announcement follows the January 13 election of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s independence-leaning Lai Ching-te — whom Beijing had branded a “severe danger” — as the island’s next leader.
Beijing has vowed to retake Taiwan, by force if necessary, and has ramped up pressure on the island, staging several rounds of major military drills in the Taiwan Strait in recent years.