Latest News

Taiwan: China ignores requests for information about new airport safety concerns

Taiwan's Civil Aviation Administration stated on Wednesday that China had not provided any information regarding a new airport that will open in the next year, less than 10 kilometers (6 miles) away from a Taiwanese Airport. This raises flight safety concerns.

Xiamen's Xiang'an Airport is located only 3 km away from Taiwan's Kinmen Islands, the site of the Cold War's on-off battles. Construction work can also be heard and seen from Taiwan.

Taiwan's Civil Aviation Administration sent a statement to saying that close airports need to be planned and coordinated in advance to ensure safety and smooth operation.

It said that the administration had requested China to provide information on planning in order to assess the impact of Xiang'an Airport on Kinmen Airport.

The report added, "However the relevant Chinese civil Aviation authorities have not provided us with any information up to date."

It said that China has an obligation to make sure the newly constructed Xiamen Xiang’an airport does not interfere with our airspace.

"The Civil Aviation Administration urges the Chinese air traffic controllers to start discussions with us immediately."

Requests for comments were not immediately answered by either the Civil Aviation Administration of China or China's Taiwan Affairs Office.

Kinmen Airport mainly offers domestic flights, but also charters to international airports.

China's government has refused to speak with Taiwan President Lai Ching Te, calling him a "separatist".

Taiwan officials are concerned that China may try to exert control over Kinmen through a development plan which will be unveiled early next year. They see Xiamen airports as a potential part of this plan.

Taiwan and China have had previous clashes over the safety of flights around Taiwan's offshore island, as well as China's opening new flight routes through the Taiwan Strait. Taipei also denounced this move by China to be unilaterally made without consultation.

Taiwan controls the Kinmen and Matsu Islands, located just off the coast of China, ever since the defeated Republic of China fled to Taipei after losing the civil war against Mao Zedong’s communists in 1949. Reporting by Ben Blanchard, Editing by Raju Gopikrishnan

(source: Reuters)