China in U-turn over no-fly zone near Taiwan
China appeared to make a rare U-turn on Wednesday over the implementation of an aggressive no-fly zone north of Taiwan, after Taipei complained about the “unheard of” original three-day restrictions.
Beijing had initially proposed to restrict all civilian flights in an area within the island’s air-defence identification zone from April 16 to 18, owing to “aerospace” activities, according to Taiwan’s defence ministry.
But it revised this down to just 27 minutes, from 9:30 am to 9:57 am, on Sunday after Taipei lodged a protest.
The airspace in question “sits at a crucial location in East Asian air routes and is a main transport artery in the western Pacific”, Taiwan’s defence ministry said in a statement.
“China’s attempt to restrict flights for as long as three days under the pretext of ‘aerospace activities’ is not only almost unheard of internationally, but also has a severe impact on managing civil aviation, and deals a blow to aviation rights and safety,” it added.
The area is crossed by hundreds of flights daily.
A senior Taiwan official familiar with China’s no-fly move told Reuters that given the potential disruption, Taipei had used “multiple channels” - including diplomacy, intelligence and aviation authorities - to persuade Beijing to rein in its original plan.
The official said Taiwan had informed all parties that would be affected by the Chinese request, including some Group of Seven (G7) countries whose foreign ministers are set to travel to Japan for a meeting from April 16 to 18.
Taiwan said Beijing amended the proposal following objections from Taipei, which said it would “struggle to implement” such a no-fly zone.
The Chinese government has not said how it plans to enforce the flight ban, and a foreign ministry spokesperson denied any knowledge of the matter.
The no-fly zone was confirmed by Japan and South Korea.
Retaliatory measures
The restrictions follow more than a week of retaliatory measures from China after Tsai Ing-wen, the Taiwanese president, met Kevin McCarthy, the speaker of the US House of Representatives, in California.
China views such meetings as a direct challenge to its claims over Taiwan as its territory, which the latter’s democratically-elected government rejects. Taiwan also has its own military, foreign policy and currency.
The Chinese military conducted three days of live-fire drills around Taiwan, practising a “sealing off” of the island nation. At least 71 Chinese aircraft crossed the median line in the strait between China and Taiwan.
Chinese J-15 fighter jets also approached Taiwan from the east in what appeared to be the first simulation of airstrikes from the side furthest from the Chinese coast.
China also conducted what the government called “patrol operations”, inspecting ships sailing in the Taiwan Strait.
A naval and air blockade of Taiwan – essentially cutting it off from the rest of the world – is one potential attack scenario by Beijing.
The recent measures add weight to the repeated threats by Xi Jinping, leader of China’s ruling Communist Party, to annex Taiwan.
Last summer, China staged its biggest-ever war drills in August when Nancy Pelosi, Mr McCarthy’s predecessor, touched down in Taiwan and met Ms Tsai.
She was the highest-ranking American politician to visit Taiwan in 25 years, infuriating Beijing.
Chinese authorities also imposed controls over six areas of airspace – what it called “danger zones” – around Taiwan for three days after Ms Pelosi’s trip, which led to numerous flight cancellations.
Taiwan is a key supplier of the world’s semiconductors and represents a major flashpoint that could potentially escalate into a military conflict between the US and China as bilateral tensions worsen.
