China opens 3rd extension to sensitive Taiwan Strait flight path
HONG KONG (Reuters) -- China's civil aviation authority said on Sunday it has opened a third extension of the M503 flight route, which has for years been the subject of complaints from Taipei due to its position just west of an unofficial dividing line in the Taiwan Strait.
China last year moved the M503 route closer to the median line, drawing an angry response from Taipei, which said Beijing was trying to "package" civil aviation for political or military considerations to potentially change the strait's status quo.
The opening of the W121 extension comes days before the annual Han Kuang military and civil defense drills that Taiwan holds to simulate a Chinese blockade and invasion of the democratic island.
The median line had for years served as an unofficial barrier between Chinese-claimed Taiwan and China, but China says it does not recognize its existence and Chinese warplanes now regularly fly over it as Beijing seeks to pressure Taipei to accept its sovereignty claims.
The Civil Aviation Authority of China said that "in order to further optimize the airspace environment and improve operational efficiency, from now on, civil aviation will use the W121 connection line of the M503 route."
Taiwan's China policy-making Mainland Affairs Council did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This is the third extension after W122 and W123, which are to the south of W121, opened last year. All three go west to east, from mainland China in the direction of Taiwan.
"This measure is aimed at "ensuring flight safety, reducing flight delays, and protecting the rights and interests of passengers," China's Taiwan Affairs Office said.
It added that the opening was "beneficial" to both sides of the strait.
Taiwan, which is facing ramped-up military pressure from China, which considers the separately governed island as its own, begins its Han Kuang exercises on July 9 and they are set to last for 10 days.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yomiuri Shimbun
an hour ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Israel's Netanyahu Says He Believes Trump Can Help Seal Ceasefire Deal
JERUSALEM, July 6 (Reuters) – Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he believed his discussions with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday would help advance talks on a Gaza hostage release and ceasefire deal, as Trump predicted an agreement could be reached this week. Israeli negotiators taking part in the ceasefire talks that resumed in Doha on Sunday have clear instructions to achieve a ceasefire agreement under conditions that Israel has accepted, Netanyahu said on Sunday before flying to Washington. 'I believe the discussion with President Trump can certainly help advance these results,' he said, adding his determination to ensure the return of hostages held in Gaza and to remove the threat of the Palestinian militant group Hamas to Israel. It will be Netanyahu's third visit to the White House since Trump returned to power nearly six months ago. Trump said he believed a hostage release and ceasefire deal could be reached this week, which could lead to the release of 'quite a few hostages.' 'I think there's a good chance we have a deal with Hamas during the week,' Trump told reporters before flying back to Washington after a weekend golfing in New Jersey. Public pressure is mounting on Netanyahu to secure a permanent ceasefire and end the war in Gaza, a move opposed by some hardline members of his right-wing coalition. Others, including Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, have expressed support. Palestinian group Hamas said on Friday it had responded to a U.S.-backed Gaza ceasefire proposal in a 'positive spirit', a few days after Trump said Israel had agreed 'to the necessary conditions to finalize' a 60-day truce. But in a sign of the potential challenges still facing the two sides, a Palestinian official from a militant group allied with Hamas said concerns remained over humanitarian aid, passage through the Rafah crossing in southern Israel to Egypt and clarity over a timetable for Israeli troop withdrawals. The first session of indirect Hamas-Israel ceasefire talks in Qatar ended inconclusively, two Palestinian sources familiar with the matter said early on Monday, adding that the Israeli delegation didn't have a sufficient mandate to reach an agreement with Hamas. Netanyahu's office said in a statement that changes sought by Hamas to the ceasefire proposal were 'not acceptable to Israel'. However, his office said the delegation would still fly to Qatar to 'continue efforts to secure the return of our hostages based on the Qatari proposal that Israel agreed to.' Netanyahu has repeatedly said Hamas must be disarmed, a demand the militant group has so far refused to discuss. Netanyahu said he believed he and Trump would also build on the outcome of the 12-day air war with Iran last month and seek to further ensure that Tehran never has a nuclear weapon. He said recent Middle East developments had created an opportunity to widen the circle of peace. HOSTAGES On Saturday evening, crowds gathered at a public square in Tel Aviv near the defence ministry headquarters to call for a ceasefire deal and the return of around 50 hostages still held in Gaza. The demonstrators waved Israeli flags, chanted and carried posters with photos of the hostages. The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered on October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Gaza's health ministry says Israel's retaliatory military assault on the enclave has killed over 57,000 Palestinians. It has also caused a hunger crisis, displaced the population, mostly within Gaza, and left the territory in ruins. Around 20 of the remaining hostages are believed to be still alive. A majority of the original hostages have been freed through diplomatic negotiations, though the Israeli military has also recovered some.
Japan Today
an hour ago
- Japan Today
Trump says countries aligning themselves with BRICS' 'anti-American policies' will be hit with additional 10% tariffs
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media upon his arrival at Morristown Airport, in Morristown, New Jersey, U.S., July 6, 2025. REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday said that countries aligning themselves with the "Anti-American policies" of BRICS, will be charged an additional 10% tariff. "Any Country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff. There will be no exceptions to this policy. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" Trump said in a post on Truth Social. Trump did not clarify or expand on the "Anti-American policies" reference in his post. The original BRICS group gathered leaders from Brazil, Russia, India and China at its first summit in 2009. The bloc later added South Africa and last year included Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia as members. © Thomson Reuters 2025.
Yomiuri Shimbun
an hour ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
South Korea Prosecutors File Request to Detain Ex-President Yoon
SEOUL, July 6 (Reuters) – South Korean special prosecutors filed a new request on Sunday to detain former President Yoon Suk Yeol, a day after he appeared before them for questioning over his declaration of martial law last year. Yoon, who is facing a criminal trial on insurrection charges over the martial law declaration in December, was arrested in January after resisting authorities trying to take him into custody, but was released after 52 days on technical grounds. 'Detention request is related to allegations of abuse of power and obstruction of justice,' the special prosecutors investigating the declaration said in a statement. The spokesperson for the special prosecutors declined to elaborate when asked why the detention request was submitted, saying they would explain it in court proceedings to decide on whether it should be granted. Yoon's lawyers said in a statement that the special prosecutors had not provided credible evidence for the charges they were seeking, and his legal team would 'explain in court that the request for an arrest warrant is unreasonable.' Yoon has been accused of mobilizing presidential guards to stop authorities from arresting him in January, but the court has previously dismissed the request for an arrest warrant after Yoon had initially refused to appear for questioning. Yoon was ousted in April by the Constitutional Court, which upheld his impeachment by parliament for a martial law bid that shocked a country that had prided itself on becoming a thriving democracy after overcoming military dictatorship in the 1980s. The December 3 decree had been lifted after about six hours when lawmakers, who had been forced to scale the walls of the assembly building to make it through a ring of security forces, voted the decree down. The former president is fighting the charges against him that include masterminding insurrection, which is punishable by death or life in prison. He rejects the allegations. The special prosecutor was appointed just days after liberal President Lee Jae-myung took office on June 4, following his victory in a snap election called after Yoon's ouster, and leads a team of more than 200 lawyers and investigators. Yoon attended hours of questioning by prosecutors on Saturday.
