China reroutes flights W122, W123 without consultation, sparking Taiwan’s criticism

China’s changes to the W122 and W123 flight routes without bilateral consultation are considered to have potentials to affect regional aviation safety as well as peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

 

Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – Taiwan strongly condemns China’s unilateral announcement regarding changes to the W122 and W123 flight routes without bilateral consultation, thereby likely affecting regional aviation safety as well as peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

This was confirmed in a written statement from the Taipei Economic and Trade Office (TETO), received by Indonesia Window here on Monday.

The statement explained that on January 30 this year, the Civil Aviation Administration of China unilaterally canceled the cross-strait agreement reached in 2015, which covered three flight routes M503, W122 and W123.

China, on April 18 2024, announced unilaterally that flight routes W122 and W123 would be launched six times in one day.

Not only does this step violate the regulations of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), but also has a serious impact on aviation safety in the Asia-Pacific region and peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. This also weakens the status quo and the basis of mutual trust in the Taiwan Strait.

“We strongly condemn China’s irresponsible actions and call on Indonesia and the international community to jointly urge China to immediately hold negotiations with Taiwan regarding this case,” said the statement.

Section 4.2.6 of the ICAO ‘Air Traffic Services Planning Manual’ stipulates that changes to any aviation network must be coordinated with all adjacent aviation information areas.

The ‘Taiwan Matsu Flight Information Region’ borders flight route W122, and the ‘Taiwan Kinmen Flight Information Region’ borders flight route W123 with the closest point being only 1.1 miles away.

“However, China announced changes to the aviation network without first consulting with the Civil Aviation Administration of Taiwan, which is the sole authority responsible for the ‘Taiwan Aviation Information Region’,” the statement from TETO.said.

This is a serious violation against the ICAO regulations and underscores China’s irresponsible authoritarian nature, it continued

Taiwan and Indonesia have close cooperation and exchanges. Peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is closely related to Indonesia’s main economic and trade interests as well as the protection of Indonesian citizens. Currently, there are around 400,000 Indonesian citizens living, studying and working in Taiwan.

China’s unilateral announcement regarding changes and opening of flight routes violates ICAO regulations and would damage peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and region as well as public security.

The Taipei Economic and Trade Office in Indonesia calls on Indonesian industry, government, academics, research and mass media to take this seriously and jointly urge China to negotiate with Taiwan to manage potential aviation risks.

Reporting by Indonesia Window