A bipartisan group of lawmakers from the House Foreign Affairs Committee has urged the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to formally invite Taiwan to participate in its upcoming triennial assembly, in a letter calling the move “a matter of U.S. national interest.”
The Sept. 17 letter, led by Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), who is the chairman of the committee, and Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), its ranking member, told ICAO President Salvatore Sciacchitano that the U.N. agency “cannot fulfill its mandate while excluding Taiwan’s experience, perspective, and participation.”
The lawmakers pointed out that Taiwan manages the Taipei Flight Information Region, one of about 300 worldwide, overseeing 18 international and four domestic routes. Additionally, Taiwan serves as a hub for 90 airlines operating passenger and cargo flights on 285 routes, connecting the island with 117 cities around the world, according to the letter.
Citing data from Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration, the lawmakers added that Taiwan’s biggest airport, Taoyuan International Airport, ranks 13th in the world for international passenger traffic and 10th for international air cargo volume.
“While Taiwan endeavors to maintain the highest standard of civil aviation, Taiwan remains excluded from ICAO’s technical meetings and secure platforms, leaving it without access to critical aviation safety information and undermining international aviation standards,” the lawmakers wrote.
Taiwan’s exclusion from the ICAO underscores ongoing efforts by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to curb the island’s participation in the international community. The Chinese regime claims it has the right to represent Taiwan, asserting that the self-governing island is a renegade province awaiting “reunification” with the mainland.
In addition to the ICAO, Taiwan has also been barred from participating in the World Health Organization because of Beijing’s objections.
“These actions are inconsistent with ICAO standards, create dangerous precedents, and heighten the risk of avoidable aviation incidents,” the lawmakers wrote.
“As the organization entrusted with deconfliction and aviation safety, ICAO cannot fulfill its mandate while excluding Taiwan’s experience, perspective, and participation.”
The lawmakers expressed hope that the U.N. agency would send Taiwan an invitation without delay.
Other signatories included Reps. Young Kim (R-Calif.), Ami Bera (D-Calif.), Chris Smith (R-N.J.), Cory Mills (R-Fla.), Brad Schneider (D-Ill.), Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), Jim Costa (D-Calif.), Michael McCaul (R-Texas), Sarah McBride (D-Del.), Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.), Andy Barr (R-Ky.), and Greg Stanton (D-Ariz.).
In his letter, Cruz said that the United States “must take the lead in advocating for Taiwanese representation and inclusion as an official participant” during the ICAO’s 42nd General Assembly.
Cruz also warned about the CCP’s intentions of preventing Taiwan from taking part in the ICAO.
“The CCP’s pressure campaign to exclude Taiwan’s participation in ICAO is no longer an underhanded tactic to deny Taiwan’s sovereignty but rather could be a deliberate strategy to diminish its ability to protect itself from a future military invasion,” he wrote.
“The United States must stand firm in opposing this authoritarian campaign. Failure to do so jeopardizes national security interests and emboldens the CCP’s march toward conflict.”
Excluded from ICAO, Taiwan has no platform within the U.N. agency to address the Chinese regime’s near-daily incursions into its air defense identification zone (ADIZ), and the regime faces no accountability, Cruz stated.
Taiwan’s defense ministry reported that three sorties of Chinese military planes crossed the Taiwan Strait’s median line and entered the island’s northern ADIZ on Sept. 20.
“Taiwan’s rightful place at ICAO is not only a matter of fairness—it is an urgent necessity for the safety of international commercial aviation and the preservation of peace in the East Asia region,” Cruz stated in his letter.
