ICAO snub may boost future support for Taiwan: Foreign ministry

The foreign ministry says Taiwan’s exclusion from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is prompting other governments to note and object to the suppression of the country by China when it comes to participation in international mechanisms which have a practical function or technical agencies affiliated to the United Nations.

The Legislature’s committee on foreign affairs and national defense plans to convene a meeting on Wednesday attended by the foreign minister, the minister for transportation and the head of the Mainland Affairs Council. They will present a report on the government’s ultimately failed bid and preparations to take part in the ICAO forum, which opened in Montreal on Tuesday.

The foreign ministry said that although Taiwan was unsuccessful in obtaining an invitation to attend the forum, the controversy had caused more key figures in international aviation to understand more about the situation and express the necessity and urgency of Taiwan’s presence in discussions pertaining to the safety and security of global aviation.

The US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Daniel Russel, and the chief cabinet secretary of Japan, Yoshihide Suga, had both spoken out in support of Taiwan’s meaningful participation at the ICAO.