Taiwan urges ICAO to invite it to upcoming assembly

Taipei, Sept. 9 (CNA) Taiwan on Tuesday called on the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to invite it to the agency's triennial assembly later this month, citing the country's importance to regional and global air traffic.

"Taiwan occupies a key position in both regional and global civil aviation," Deputy Transportation Minister Lin Kuo-shian (林國顯) said at a joint press event with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).

Lin noted that the Taipei Flight Information Region (Taipei FIR), managed solely by Taiwan's Civil Aviation Administration (CAA), handled more than 1.85 million flights in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last year, this figure stood at 1.64 million flights, according to CAA data.

"Participation would allow Taiwan to stay updated on the latest aviation developments and ensure the highest level of flight safety," Lin said.

Taiwan last attended the ICAO assembly in 2013 as a guest of the council president, at a time of warmer cross-strait relations under the then-Kuomintang (KMT) administration.

Taiwan is not a U.N. member and therefore not part of ICAO, a specialized U.N. agency.

The ICAO's 42nd assembly will be held from Sept. 23 to Oct. 3 at its headquarters in Montreal, Canada.

At the same press event, Vice Foreign Minister Ger Baushuan (葛葆萱) said Taiwan will also seek international support during the 80th session of the U.N. General Assembly, which opens on Sept. 9 in New York. The high-level debate runs from Sept. 23 to 27.

Ger said Taiwan's government will again ask its diplomatic allies and partners to voice support for the country's inclusion in the U.N. system, either through speeches at the assembly or letters to Secretary-General António Guterres.

He added that Taiwan will also step up efforts to counter Beijing's "misuse" of U.N. Resolution 2758, which recognized the People's Republic of China as the U.N. representative in 1971 but did not address Taiwan's status.

"The resolution does not authorize the PRC to represent Taiwan in the U.N. system, nor does it state that Taiwan is part of the PRC," Ger said. "Only the government elected by the people of Taiwan can represent Taiwan internationally."

Resolution 2758 led to the PRC entering the U.N. and Taiwan, officially named the Republic of China (ROC), leaving the multilateral body. Since then, Taiwan has been excluded from the U.N. and its affiliated agencies.