TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The US State Department on Sunday urged China and Taiwan to enter discussions and resolve Beijing's unilateral activation of a flight path over the Taiwan Strait.
On July 6, China’s Civil Aviation Administration announced the opening of the W121 connecting path along the M503 flight route. The Mainland Affairs Council said that both sides had reached a consensus in 2015 allowing only southbound flights on the M503 and called on it to be shifted 6 nautical miles (11 km) west.
MAC said that under the consensus the use of M503's three connecting routes — W121, W122, and W123 — was also to be decided through discussions. It pointed out that this is the third time Beijing has unilaterally broken the consensus.
In response, a US State Department spokesperson told CNA that Washington has consistently called for cross-strait differences to be resolved "by peaceful means, free from coercion, in a manner acceptable to the people on both sides of the Strait.”
China’s unilateral establishment of the M503 route in 2015 sparked controversy due to its proximity to the median line and implications for defense and flight safety. Last year, China also activated west-to-east routes W122 and W123, with the addition of W121. All three connecting routes are now operational.
Senior Director for Research at the Institute for Indo-Pacific Security, Michael Mazza, told CNA that China’s move is both symbolic and substantive.
He said China is asserting sovereignty over the Taiwan Strait’s airspace by unilaterally determining flight paths. He added that Beijing seeks to isolate Taiwan diplomatically, as the International Civil Aviation Organization is unlikely to raise objections.
Taiwan, a founding member of ICAO, was excluded from the organization after being forced out of the United Nations in 1971 due to pressure from China. Taiwan participated in the 2013 ICAO Assembly as a special guest invited by the council president, but has not been invited since 2016 due to Beijing’s opposition.
Mazza added that the new air routes raise national security concerns, as they may familiarize Chinese pilots involved with flight paths around Taiwan. He also warned that China could study how to disguise military aircraft as civilian planes and use these routes to approach Taiwan’s airspace undetected.
"Overall, China's air route machinations are part and parcel of a broader effort to pressure, envelop, and complicate the defense of Taiwan," said Mazza.
