‘PROVOCATIONS’: The tweets by US representatives Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Sheila Jackson Lee said that China’s actions threatened regional security and the status quo
Taipei Times
Date: Jan 21, 2018
By: Nadia Tsao and Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporter in Washington, with staff writer and CNA
US representatives yesterday made comments on Twitter in support of Taiwan
Civil Aeronautics Administration Deputy Director-General Ho Shu-ping comments on China’s launch of the M503 flight routes at a news conference at the administration’s headquarters in Taipei on Friday. Photo: Chen Yi-chia, Taipei Times
regarding China’s unilateral announcement of new flight routes in the Taiwan Strait.
Beijing unilaterally announced the launch of the M503 northbound route on Jan. 4 without consulting Taiwan. The route is only 4.2 nautical miles, or approximately 7.8km, west of the median line of the Taiwan Strait at its closest point.
Three Chinese east-west extension routes also introduced on Jan. 4 — designated W121, W122 and W123 — overlap with Taiwan’s W6, W8 and W2 flight routes, which serve the outlying islands of Matsu and Kinmen, raising aviation safety concerns.
“China’s new flight routes around Taiwan, activated without consulting Taipei, threaten aviation security and the cross-strait status quo,” tweeted US Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who previously served as the chairwoman of the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs. [FULL STORY]