Aviation safety transcends national borders. To achieve safe and orderly development of international civil aviation and to work towards greater inclusion of stakeholders, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has long invited non-Contracting States, nongovernmental organizations, and private enterprises to attend ICAO meetings of various levels. Taiwan’s Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) was invited to attend the 38th ICAO Assembly in 2013, which set an important precedent. Indeed, as the UN’s specialized agency for international civil aviation, ICAO should allow Taiwan’s CAA, the sole managing agency of the Taipei Flight Information Region (Taipei FIR), to participate in its Assembly Sessions, regional and technical meetings, and seminars, as well as to obtain related information through appropriate channels.
- The importance of the Taipei FIR
The Taipei FIR borders four other FIRs, i.e., Fukuoka, Manila, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. It is located off China’s eastern seaboard and between Japan and the Philippines. In 2017, the Taipei FIR provided services to over 1.66 million controlled flights, and to nearly 66 million travelers entering, leaving, or transiting through Taiwan. As of the end of 2017, 88 airlines offered services to and from Taiwan, operating passenger and cargo flights on 296 routes and connecting 141 cities around the world.
- The necessity of Taiwan’s participation in ICAO
- Ensuring regional aviation safety
Located at a key position in the Asia-Pacific, Taiwan has long enjoyed close air transport links with other countries in the region. Tourism statistics show that in 2017 over 9.69 million passengers from the region visited Taiwan, and that over 14.44 million passengers from Taiwan visited countries or areas in the region. Taiwan’s accomplishments in air transport development are evident to all regional stakeholders. Aviation safety in the Taipei FIR is closely related to air transport development in the Asia-Pacific. Taiwan’s inclusion in ICAO is therefore in the interests of the entire region.
- Contributing to the development of the civil air transport sector
Taiwan was the first country in the Asia-Pacific to establish a CNS/ATM system in accordance with the directives of the ICAO Special Committee on Future Air Navigation Systems. If Taiwan were invited to attend ICAO meetings of various levels, it could share experiences with regard to the challenges it faced in applying advanced technologies and procedures, thereby improving flight management efficacy across the Asia-Pacific. Taiwan could also provide other expertise in such areas as flight management, aviation security, and flight safety to other nations, creating closer regional cooperation in the civil aviation sector.
- Participating in a constructive and professional manner
The call for Taiwan’s participation in ICAO is for technical purposes. Taiwan’s CAA hopes to establish communication channels with ICAO’s technical bureaus and commissions and attend technical meetings, so as to directly obtain timely information on important aviation issues and clarify any outstanding issues with other meeting participants. Only through direct participation in ICAO can Taiwan’s CAA learn about the latest developments concerning key ICAO issues, overcome the difficulties associated with a lack of transparency, maintain adequate safety levels and service standards in the Taipei FIR, and contribute to global aviation safety and development.
- Achieving a seamless sky
The goal of Taiwan’s CAA has always been to maintain the highest aviation safety levels and service standards in the Taipei FIR. We endeavor to implement related measures and meet ICAO’s standards. For the sake of technical information exchanges on civil aviation, Taiwan should be allowed to participate in ICAO, including its Assembly Sessions and regional and technical meetings. This will help ICAO achieve a seamless sky, benefit the aviation sector in the Asia-Pacific and the world, and serve the interests of all parties concerned.
| ISSUES | EXAMPLES |
| Aviation safety |
Without access to ICAO’s Secure Portal, and unable to attend working-level meetings, Taiwan has no information on the ICAO Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme and its latest developments, which is crucial to maintaining aviation safety. In addition, the rapid development of unmanned aircraft systems has caused flight and public safety concerns worldwide. To deal with the UAS problem, Taiwan’s CAA is now in the process of amending the Civil Aviation Act, adding a dedicated chapter on the management of UAS. In doing so, Taiwan has held several public hearings and used legislative experiences of the US, the EU, and Japan as reference. Nevertheless, Taiwan requires further technical assistance to deal with related matters. |
|
Civil aviation authorities worldwide are required to establish a State Safety Programme to effectively supervise service providers in their respective countries. In addition, ICAO has launched an important initiative—the Safety Management System—aimed at enhancing air safety. SSP and SMS resources, such as standards, training materials and tools, and safety information, are only available on the ICAO Secure Portal. Without access to the Secure Portal, Taiwan is unable to promptly acquire such resources. |
|
|
During the 37th ICAO Assembly in 2010, the Assembly directed the ICAO Council to establish a mandate for the replacement of halon, including related handheld fire extinguishers used in aircraft produced after a specified date in 2016. To meet ICAO’s directive, the CAA amended relevant regulations in March 2013. While attending the 38th ICAO Assembly in September 2013, however, Taiwan learned that the timeframe for that mandate was postponed and would be further discussed at the next Assembly (the 39th Assembly in 2016). Due to a lack of information on the halon replacement issue, Taiwan was forced to amend related regulations twice to be in compliance with ICAO standards. If Taiwan had not been invited to attend the 38th Assembly, we would not have been able to complete regulatory procedures in a timely manner, causing difficulties for Taiwan’s aircraft operators. |
|
| Air navigation operations |
By decision of the Southeast Asia Route Review Task Force (SEA-RR/TF) of the ICAO Asia/Pacific Regional Office (APAC) in 2011, ATS route B348 was to be redesignated as RNAV route M646 with navigation specification of RNP10. ICAO members involved in the route, including Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines, also reached an agreement effective May 3, 2012. Not having been consulted, Taiwan was not able to adjust the route segment within the Taipei FIR according to the timetable set by APAC, causing problems for flight operations. Taiwan’s exclusion makes it impossible for ICAO to achieve its goal of a seamless sky in Asia. |
|
On January 4, 2018, at very short notice, mainland China unilaterally activated the northbound M503 flight route, which is very close to the Taipei FIR, as well as the three east-west extension routes W121, W122, and W123. This had an immediate and serious impact on aviation safety. With an insufficient buffer between the M503 flight route and the Taipei FIR, any deviation by flights traversing the M503 route due to technical issues greatly exacerbates the risk of near misses or even mid-air collisions. As per ICAO Doc 9426, the operation of flight routes is to be coordinated with adjacent FIRs. The kind of unilateral activation conducted by mainland China not only contravenes ICAO principles but also violates international practice. |
|
|
While attending an aeronautics information management seminar held by a nongovernmental aviation organization, Taiwan’s CAA realized that it has been in full compliance with ICAO standards and recommended practices in providing aeronautical information services, even though Taiwan is not a member state of ICAO. In fact, the CAA’s performance on AIS development in the Taipei FIR exceeds that of other Asian countries. Nevertheless, as even ICAO members themselves experienced problems in interpreting ICAO documents, the CAA also realized that it was exerting considerably more time and resources than other countries to gain a proper understanding of the rationale behind standards and recommended practices and implement them accordingly. |
|
| Aviation security |
To mitigate threats from terrorism, ICAO announced a new security requirement for checked-in baggage with portable electronic devices on July 1, 2017. If checked-in baggage contains PEDs with lithium-ion batteries, the PEDs should be turned off and adequately protected before being checked in. Because Taiwan currently can neither attend technical meetings on security requirements nor obtain related information in a timely fashion, Taiwan only learned of this new requirement through media reports shortly before its implementation. Due to time constraints, the only thing Taiwan could do was to ask its airlines to remind passengers to comply with this requirement. |
