TAIPEI (Taiwan News) —Taiwan Representative to the EU and Belgium Roy Chun Lee (李淳) called on countries to oppose China’s salami-slicing tactics to undermine the status quo, in an editorial published by Euractiv on Thursday (March 8).
Lee said China’s latest move was its change to flight paths. China made adjustments to its north-south M503 flight path by canceling its 6-nautical-mile (11 km) offset on Jan. 30, per CNA. China also said it would allow eastbound flights on flight path W122 between Fuzhou and M503 and W123 between Xiamen and M503 starting on Feb. 1, according to CNA.
“On the surface, the activation seems to be a simple change in regulation for better civil aviation management,” Lee said. “However, a large part of the M503 route overlaps almost directly with the median line of the Taiwan Strait, which has been considered as a key status quo in maintaining peace between the two sides,” he added.
Lee said that air traffic volume in the flight paths is still lower than pre-COVID-19 numbers, suggesting no reason for these changes.
“As such, the activation of the M503 route has to be understood as a unilateral change to the status quo, and as an intimidation to Taiwan’s security,” he argued. “It is also an explicit act to intimidate Taiwan’s incoming government that will take office in May,” Lee added.
To deter such behavior, Lee suggested that the first step is to recognize that China is using salami-slicing tactics and that it must be stopped. He also argued that the case shows the need for Taiwan to participate in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and other international organizations.