Editorial
Taiwan's government has expressed outrage after China unilaterally changed the routes of flights crossing an airway near the sensitive median line in the Taiwan Strait. The change, according to Taiwan, is a deliberate act aimed at altering the status quo, for military purposes only.
China's Civil Aviation Administration said in a brief statement Tuesday evening that it would cancel a southward compensation measure on the M503 route starting Thursday. The point in question is located just west of the middle line of the Strait.
The Midline has for years functioned as an unofficial barrier between Taiwan and China itself. China recently said it does not recognize the existence of this imaginary border line, allowing its military planes to fly there regularly.
China has also said it wants to open routes from west to east, or towards Taiwan, on two flight paths from the Chinese cities of Xiamen and Fuzhou, close to the Taiwan-controlled island groups of Kinmen and Matsu.
Taiwan's Civil Aviation Administration and the Mainland Affairs Council, which is responsible for China's policies, both called the moves unilateral and never shared.
Chieh Chung, military researcher at the National Policy Foundation of Taiwan, spoke via Reuters, saying the new air path would be about 7km from the median line, thus reducing warning and reaction time for Taiwan's air defenses.
Il Ministry of Defense of Taiwan said Beijing's actions can easily lead to increased tensions, adding that “For unknown aircraft entering our Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), they will be dealt with in accordance with operational procedures and emergency management regulations to ensure the safety of our airspace.".
China made it known, through its Taiwan Affairs Office, that the route changes were decided to ease the relevant airspace, underlining that China does not need to discuss it with Taiwan first. Beijing, in fact, claims that the so-called median line does not exist.
The route known as M503 is mainly used by Chinese airlines and also by foreign airlines traveling to and from cities such as Shanghai and Southeast Asia.
Flights to and from Taiwan and the Chinese cities of Xiamen and Fuzhou instead follow a tortuous route along the median line, rather than flying directly across the Strait.
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