Taiwan snubs air pact talks with RP

Aviation relations between the Philippines and Taiwan hit a new low as Taipei indicated its inability to send representatives to today's official talks with their Philippine counterparts.

Less than 24 hours before the two-day talks were to open in Manila, officials from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) had yet to confirm their attendance in the crucial meeting.

The apparent boycott is a violation of a provisional agreement reached earlier by TECO director Hsien Ching Chan and the Manila Economic and Cultural Office's (MECO) Eva Estrada Kalaw.

The agreement, signed in Malacañang last Jan. 28, restored direct air links between the two countries after a four-month hiatus.

As part of that temporary deal, Taiwan agreed to resume formal talks aimed at concluding a permanent air service agreement to replace the outdated 1996 pact. The new accord is expected to reflect market conditions and serve as the foundation for long-term aviation relations between the Philippines and Taiwan.

"I would like to commit that ... we are willing to start, at the soonest possible date, the negotiation on the details of the sixth freedom right," Chan wrote Kalaw on Jan. 28.

Subsequently, MECO proposed March 1 and 2 as the dates for the talks in Manila. As of press time, however, there was still no official word from Taipei on whether it would honor its commitment under the Jan. 28 compromise deal.

Last week, a fresh dispute broke out between the two sides when Taiwan's civil aviation authority drastically reduced Philippine Airlines' Manila-Taipei flights from seven to four times weekly in retaliation for the failed bid of China Airlines to operate excess Kaohsiung-Manila flights.