Taiwan will continue negotiating the controversial flight route M503 with China. That’s the word from Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Andrew Hsia, on Monday.
In mid-January, China unilaterally announced that four new flight routes would go into operation on March 5th. However, one of the routes – route M503 -- is just 7.8 kilometers away from the center line of the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan officials say that could pose a threat to national security and aviation safety.
China later agreed to postpone its plan, after Taiwan lodged a strong protest and called for negotiations.
Hsia told lawmakers on Monday that even though the plan has been postponed, Taiwan is still not happy with the situation.
“We are not satisfied with the current situation and we hope to continue negotiations," said Hsia. "It will be acceptable to us if [two] conditions are met. First, that we can continue negotiating with [China] about moving the flight route further west. [And second], negotiations should continue over other conditions and related measures.”
Hsia said he will express Taiwan’s dissatisfaction with his Chinese counterpart, Zhang Zhijun, when the two meet. Zhang is the head of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office.