New route cleared by International Civil Aviation Organisation, island should not make a fuss, Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman says
China’s mainland does not need Taiwan’s permission to open new air routes, Beijing said on Wednesday after Taipei complained that a new route over the Taiwan Strait that separates the two was a security and safety risk.
Beijing has taken an increasingly hostile stance towards Taipei since the election two years ago of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen from the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party.
Tsai said earlier this month that the opening of the air route, which runs close to two groups of Taiwan-controlled island groups off the Chinese coast, was an irresponsible act that threatened regional security and affected aviation safety.
Taipei brands China’s new aviation routes in Taiwan Strait irresponsible
Taiwan said this month’s opening of the northbound M503 route over the Taiwan Strait was done without telling the island, contravening what the democratic government in Taipei said is a 2015 deal to first discuss such flight paths.
Speaking at a regular news briefing in Beijing, Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for the mainland’s Taiwan Affairs Office, denied breaking the 2015 agreement and said Taiwan had been informed the route would be opening.
