China says plenty of space separates Taiwan flights amid route row
BEIJING: China rebuffed Taiwan’s objections in a deepening row over the opening of new flight paths in the Taiwan Strait, saying yesterday that the space separating routes over the waterway was more than is mandated by international standards.
This month China opened several new air routes, including a northbound route up the sensitive Taiwan Strait that divides China from the island. Taiwan says it was done without its agreement, contravening what the democratic government in Taipei has said was a 2015 deal to first discuss such flight paths.
In response, self- governed Taiwan has withheld approval of routine applications from China Eastern and Xiamen Airlines, majority owned by China Southern Airlines , to add Lunar New Year flights because the airlines had used the disputed air routes.
Taiwan has expressed concern the new routes are too close to existing routes that link it to airports on two groups of Taiwan- controlled islands lying close to China - Kinmen which sits opposite to the Chinese city of Xiamen and the Matsu archipelago near to Fuzhou.
Multiple daily flights connect the islands to mainland Taiwan, while Xiamen and Fuzhou are also busy airports.
Speaking at a regular news briefing, Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said there was at least 23km separating the routes. — Reuters