Question for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
UIN 13498, tabled on 7 February 2024
Question
Sir Iain Duncan Smith
Conservative
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the recent changes to the M503, W122, and W123 flight paths around Taiwan.
Answer
Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Conservative
Answered on
19 February 2024
The UK has regular discussions within the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) regarding the importance of communication and coordination in the protection of air safety, especially when it comes to changes to airspace such as this.
We do not support any unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait and have underscored the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait alongside partners in previous G7 Foreign and Development Ministers’ and Leaders’ communiques.
The UK’s longstanding policy on Taiwan has not changed. We consider the Taiwan issue one to be settled peacefully by the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait through constructive dialogue, without the threat or use of force or coercion.