Taiwan urges talks as China unilaterally launches flight route

Taipei, July 6 (CNA) Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has urged China to promptly begin talks through existing channels on its unilateral decision to launch the W121 flight route, which Beijing announced on Sunday.

The west-to-east W121 route connects Dongshan in Zhejiang Province to the north-south M503 flight route, which was unilaterally moved closer to the median line of the Taiwan Strait by China in February 2024, despite protests from Taiwan.

The MAC, Taiwan's top agency for handling China-related issues, said in a media group that the decision not only disrespected the consensus between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait and public opinion in Taiwan, but destabilized the strait and the region.

Chen Binhua (陳斌華), a spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, claimed that the new flight route would "benefit people on both sides of the strait" by easing air traffic, ensuring flight safety, reducing delays, and protecting travelers' rights.

The MAC countered, however, that China's international flight volume has yet to return to pre-COVID-19 levels and that the W121 route does not connect the two sides of the strait.

Given the existing complexities between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait and in the Asia-Pacific region, the MAC called on Beijing to stop its unilateral actions, which heighten regional tensions and are not welcomed by all parties.

Taiwan's Civil Aviation Administration said in a statement, meanwhile, that China's decision was regrettable, and that it would watch relevant flights closely to ensure flight safety.

It noted that under International Civil Aviation Organization regulations, the creation, reduction, or adjustment of flight routes should be coordinated with the regions they pass through and relevant stakeholders.

The M503 route, to which the W121 route is connected, was unilaterally declared by China in 2015, and is situated in the Shanghai Flight Information Region but very close to the Taipei Flight Information Region, raising concerns about flight safety and Taiwan's sovereignty.

After negotiations with Taiwan, China agreed at the time to move the M503 route six nautical miles to the west of its original path, but Beijing announced on Jan. 30, 2024 that it was shifting the route eastward again, effective Feb. 1.

The opening of the W121 flight path comes after W122 and W123, two other west-to-east flight paths to the south of W121, were opened last year at the same time as the M503 route was moved eastward.

The openings prompted protests from Taiwan and raised concerns that they threaten both flight safety, especially domestic flights between Taiwan and Kinmen, located near route W123, and Taiwan's security.