China’s aviation regulator said on July 6 that it had extended a flight route near the sensitive median line in the Taiwan Strait, just days before Taiwan’s annual military exercises were set to begin.
The Civil Aviation Authority of China stated that it had opened the west-to-east W121 connecting line of the M503 flight path to “further optimize airspace management and improve operational efficiency.”
The Chinese regulator adjusted the W121 route in 2024 by moving it closer to the median line of the Taiwan Strait, despite objections from Taiwan. This was the third extension of the M503 flight path after two other west-to-east lines, W122 and W123, were opened last year.
Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) denounced China’s extension of the flight path as destabilizing and urged the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to engage in dialogue, according to local reports.
The council stated that regulations set by the International Civil Aviation Organization require both sides to obtain a consensus from the regions the flight routes are connected to before making any changes.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office defended the flight path extension by saying that it would enhance flight safety and reduce flight delays. It also stated that the opening was beneficial to both sides of the strait.
The MAC disputed this claim, noting that China’s international flight volume has not yet returned to pre-COVID-19 levels.
The flight path extension came just days ahead of Taiwan’s 2025 Han Kuang military drill, scheduled to take place from July 9 to July 18, which is aimed at enhancing its combat readiness in the event of a potential attack from Chinese forces.
Maj. Gen. Tung Chi-hsing, director of Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense’s Joint Operations Planning Division, told reporters on July 1 that the drills will begin with a simulated “gray zone harassment” scenario, which, in a real conflict, would trigger Taiwan’s peace-to-war transition protocols.
This includes activating emergency combat readiness and shifting operational posture according to wartime procedures.
Tung described gray zone tactics for the upcoming drill as encompassing legal warfare, deception, provocations, and attempts to exhaust Taiwan’s military resources.
“Each of these actions is something the Chinese Communist Party might carry out against Taiwan before entering wartime,” he said at a press conference.
The median line had for years served as an unofficial barrier between Taiwan and China, although the CCP has refused to recognize its existence and regularly sends warplanes across it as part of efforts to pressure Taiwan into unification with the mainland.
The CCP, which has never ruled Taiwan, considers the self-governed island to be a renegade province and has not ruled out the possibility of using force to control it.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth previously warned that any attempt by Beijing to seize Taiwan could result in “devastating consequences” for both the region and the world.
“There’s no reason to sugarcoat it: The threat China poses is real, and it could be imminent,” he said at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on May 31.
He also emphasized the need for the United States and its allies to maintain readiness with “urgency and vigilance.”
Bill Pan and Reuters contributed to this report.
Friends Read Free
Copy
Facebook
Tweet
