The tit for tat dispute has its roots in messy rules over airspace control.
The News Lens
Date: 2018/03/16
By: The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative
China’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) in early January announced the expansion of
公民團體前往陸委會抗議M503航線。Photo Credit: 臺左維新
its heavily-trafficked flight route M503. Authorities announced that the route, which previously accommodated only southbound flights over the Taiwan Strait, would be expanded into a north- and south-bound route, accompanied by the establishment of three extension routes servicing the cities of Xiamen, Fuzhou, and Dongshan.
Authorities in Taipei quickly condemned the announcement as a unilateral and destabilizing violation of a previous cross-Strait agreement, and demanded an immediate halt to air traffic using the route. The United States also weighed in, with the American Institute in Taiwan expressing concern that the announcement was made without consultation with Taipei and unilaterally altered the cross-Strait “status quo.”
But why would the expansion of a previously accepted route that falls on the Chinese side of the median line in the Taiwan Strait (albeit by just 4 nautical miles) garner such a strong response from Taipei? The dispute offers insights into the messy nature of air traffic in Asia, how the lack of a robust international flight regulation system contributes to that disorder, and the often-overlooked difficulties Taiwan faces due to its exclusion from most international bodies. [FULL STORY]
