An official at Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York said Aug. 21 that Taiwan is working on applying for observer status in the International Civil Aviation Organization, whose international body’s triennial assembly is due to take place late next month in Montreal, Canada.
Andrew Kao, director of TECO New York, made the remarks at the annual forum of the Chinese American Academic and Professional Society in New York.
Kao said the ICAO’s regulations provide a legal basis for Taiwan to apply for observership in the organization as “other entity or other body.” He pointed out that there are several examples in the past of ICAO observer status being granted to U.N. non-members, including the Cook Islands, the Palestinian Liberation Organization and the African Union, all of which strengthen Taiwan’s case.
Kao noted that despite always following the ICAO’s regulations, Taiwan has not been allowed to participate in its meetings or activities and has been unable to obtain its technical support or notification of its latest rule revisions.
Although Taiwan is a major international navigation hub, with more than 1.54 million flights passing through its flight information region every year, it must still obtain ICAO information indirectly from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, Kao added.
Taiwan’s exclusion from the ICAO represents a hole in the world’s aviation network, impacts global flight safety and passenger convenience, and goes against the organization’s principle of universality, Kao said. He stressed that this is in neither Taiwan’s nor the international community’s best interests.
Seeking meaningful participation or observer status for Taiwan in international organizations such as the ICAO has been one of the government’s diplomatic priorities.
President Ma Ying-jeou’s strategy since coming to power in 2008 has been to mothball attempts for the Republic of China to re-enter the United Nations; instead, the government is focusing on achieving practical participation in the world body’s specialized agencies.
The CAAPS meeting this year discussed climate change and civil aviation safety. In addition to Kao, Environmental Protection Administration Deputy Minister Chang Tzi-chin, professor Vincent Wang of the University of Richmond and William Vocke, senior fellow and program director of the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, were invited to speak at the event. (SB).