OPINION:
Today through Oct. 14, the 193 member states of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) will meet in Montreal for the organization’s 41st assembly. At the gathering they will consider and adopt new policies affecting the rules of the global air-transport system and set priorities for the work cycle of the next three years. It is regrettable that Taiwan is barred from the organization.
Here’s what it’s crucial that Taiwan join the ICAO: Taiwan’s civil aviation authorities have full responsibility for administering the
Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR), one of the busiest air-transport hubs in Asia. But Taiwan is forced to obtain this information indirectly, through other nations, nongovernmental organizations, neighboring FIRs and private companies, making for a complicated
and needlessly time-consuming process. The situation affects Taiwan’s ability to smoothly implement the latest Standards and Recommended Practices (SARP) and means that the country must spend more time, money and effort than ICAO members on improving aviation safety and security.
More than 47 foreign airlines operate flights from Taipei to over 100 international destinations. Each year, nearly 1.3 million flights pass through the 180,000 square nautical miles that make up the Taipei Flight Information Region. Taiwan is a major air transportation hub linking Asia, Europe and North America. For the sake of passenger safety and international security, Taiwan must be brought into the ICAO fold.
KENT WANG
Advisory Commissioner for the Overseas Community Affairs Council, Republic of China (Taiwan) in the United States
Potomac Falls, Virginia
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