Palace urges Taiwan to negotiate air pact

Malacañang urged Taiwan yesterday to return to the negotiating table to settle a renewed aviation dispute.

"We hope that the Taiwanese side would accept the proposal of MECO for the resumption of air consultation talks in Manila on 1-2 March 2000," President Estrada's spokesman Fernando Barican said.

The Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) represents Philippine interests in Taipei. The Philippines has diplomatic ties only with Beijing, which considers Taiwan a renegade province.

Philippine aviation officials on Feb. 18 scrapped the Manila-Kaohsiung route being serviced by China Airlines, claiming the carrier had exceeded passenger limits.

The move reignited a 1999 dispute which led to the suspension of direct air links in October. Direct flights resumed after a Jan. 28 agreement.

Taiwan retaliated by cutting the number of weekly Manila-Taipei flights by flag-carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) from seven to four.

"Until the dispute is resolved, we will only allow four weekly PAL flights between Taipei and Manila instead of the seven that was previously agreed upon," an official from Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said in Taipei last week.

Flights resumed earlier this month after both parties signed the January accord which allowed Taiwan's China Airlines (CAL) and Eva Airways to reopen services from Taipei and southern Kaohsiung to Manila, Cebu, Laoag and Subic Bay in the Philippines with a total weekly passenger load of 9,600.

The Philippines, however, ordered a temporary ban on the Kaohsiung-Manila route -- served by CAL only -- saying the number of passengers from Taiwan to its capital in the past week had exceeded 4,800.

Taiwan argued the 4,800 limit should apply only to those flying to Manila from Taipei only.

Taiwan's foreign ministry has demanded an explanation for Manila's move to reject CAL's Kaohsiung-Manila flights.

Accusing the two Taiwanese carriers of poaching PAL's market on the lucrative Philippine-US route, Manila suspended a 1996 air agreement in July, leading to a halt in air traffic beginning Oct. 1. --