Liberal, Tory MPs Call for Taiwan’s Inclusion in UN Civil Aviation Organization Ahead of Conference

Liberal and Conservative MPs are calling for Taiwan’s participation in a United Nations international civil aviation organization ahead of a meeting of the group in Montreal this week.

“Inclusion isn’t a political gesture. It’s a necessity for safety, for stability and for the future of civil aviation,” Liberal MP Judy Sgro said during a press conference in Ottawa on Sept. 22.

She added that the “vital” air space over the Taiwan Strait “shouldn’t be managed in isolation or used as leverage in geopolitical contests.”

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), based in Montreal, will be hosting its 42nd assembly at its headquarters from Sept. 23 to Oct. 3. The organization fosters cooperation between countries around air safety and security to harmonize regulatory frameworks.

The island nation has been shut out of U.N. organizations like ICAO, as most countries in the world do not officially recognize Taiwan. Taiwan currently has official diplomatic relationships with just 12 countries, with the balance having a relationship with the People’s Republic of China. Taiwan is an independent democratic nation, while Beijing considers it part of its territory.

Sgro spoke at the press conference alongside Tory MP Michael Cooper, who said Taiwan is being excluded from the ICAO meeting not due to its performance, but rather, “bending to Beijing’s bullying.”

Cooper said excluding Taiwan is “nothing short of reckless” and makes a “mockery” of ICAO’s purported mission to build a resilient and inclusive aviation system.

The Epoch Times reached out to ICAO for comment but didn’t hear back by publication time.

Cooper noted that Canada has typically advocated for Taiwan to be included in meaningful multinational fora and said the prime minister or the minister of foreign affairs should call for Taiwan’s inclusion.

The Canadian government has not expressed a stance on inviting Taiwan to this year’s ICAO assembly. Assemblies take part at least every three years and in the past Canada had backed Taiwan’s participation. Taiwan was invited to the ICAO assembly in 2013.

The Epoch Times reached out to Global Affairs Canada for comment, but the department said it wasn’t able to provide a response before deadline.

Airspace Security Concerns

The call by Sgro and Cooper to include Taiwan echoes a similar bipartisan initiative in the United States. Members of the U.S. House of Representatives last week sent a letter to ICAO Council President Salvatore Sciaccitano to call for Taiwan’s inclusion.

“Taiwan’s inclusion in the 42nd ICAO Assembly is a matter of U.S. national interest and international aviation security,” the lawmakers wrote in an initiative spearheaded the top Republican and Democrat members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

U.S. lawmakers have raised concerns about China encroaching on Taiwanese airspace through the unilateral activation of flight routes, or declaring temporary danger zones for the conduction of military drills.

“These actions are inconsistent with ICAO standards, create dangerous precedents, and heighten the risk of avoidable aviation incidents,” said the U.S. representatives.

Sgro, who chairs the Canada-Taiwan Friendship Group, expressed similar concerns, citing China’s new M503 flight route that opened this summer near an unofficial dividing line in the Taiwan Strait.

“On paper, China claims is to reduce air congestion, but in reality, this new route offers no real civilian benefit,” Sgro said. “What it does do is reduce Taiwan’s air defence depth and warning time—a clear military advantage for China in the event of an invasion.”

Tseng Ho-jen, Taiwan’s representative to Canada, spoke alongside Sgro and Cooper and described the impacts of China’s military drills around the island. He said after then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in 2022, China fired ballistic missiles near and over Taiwan, leading to international flights transiting via Taipei being reduced by 90 percent.

“The severity of these disruptions drew concern from ICAO members,” Tseng said.

Tseng noted Taiwan oversees one of the busiest Flight Information Regions (FIR) in East Asia and said its exclusion from ICAO puts passengers at risk. FIRs, a region of airspace where air traffic control services are provided, are delegated by ICAO.

Taiwan called on ICAO to include it in its forthcoming conference in a Sept. 15 statement, arguing that the country is a key player and indispensable partner in the Indo-Pacific region, in efforts toward global peace, stability, and prosperity.