Beijing says plenty of space separates Taiwan flights amid route row

Beijing rebuffed Taipei’s objections in a deepening row over the opening of new flight paths in the Taiwan Strait, saying on Wednesday that the space separating routes over the waterway was more than is mandated by international standards.

This month, Beijing opened several new air routes, including a northbound one up the sensitive strait that divides the mainland from Taiwan. The self-ruled island said it was done without its agreement, contravening what the democratic government in Taipei has said was a 2015 deal to first discuss such flight paths.

In response, Taiwan withheld approval of routine applications from China Eastern and Xiamen Airlines, majority owned by China Southern Airlines, to add Lunar New Year flights because the airlines had used the disputed air routes.

Taiwan has expressed concern that the new routes are too close to existing ones that link it to airports on two groups of Taiwan-controlled islands lying close to China – Quemoy, also known as Kinmen, which sits opposite to the mainland city of Xiamen, and the Matsu archipelago near to Fuzhou.

Multiple daily flights connect the islands to mainland Taiwan, while Xiamen and Fuzhou are also busy airports.