Pakistan makes U-turn on Taiwan airline ban – media
Pakistan has restored overflight rights to two Taiwanese airlines after they stopped using its airspace three days earlier, according to AP, Bloomberg and Dawn.
On Wednesday, Islamabad issued permits allowing Taiwan-based China Airlines and EVA Air to use Pakistani airspace until March 27, 2027, the outlets reported, citing official documents.
Hours earlier, Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif had defended restrictions on Taiwanese carriers, citing Islamabad’s longstanding adherence to Beijing’s One China policy. “The aviation division follows the One-China policy – only mainland China is allowed,” Asif told Bloomberg. “We have permitted only Chinese airlines to fly over Pakistan.”
According to flight-tracking data, Taiwanese airlines began rerouting flights to avoid Pakistani airspace on October 25. Taipei condemned Islamabad for what it described as undermining Taiwan’s sovereignty and “politicizing and weaponizing airspace,” according to Taiwanese media.
Most countries, including the US and Russia, do not formally recognize Taiwan as an independent state. Beijing considers the self-governing island part of China and seeks reunification, preferably through peaceful means, but has not ruled out the use of force. Washington and several other Western governments maintain unofficial ties with Taipei and supply it with weapons, drawing condemnation from Beijing.
Pakistan’s restrictions reportedly went further than Beijing’s own rules, which permit some Taiwanese airline operations in mainland Chinese airspace.
China and Pakistan maintain close political and military ties, describing their relationship as an “all-weather strategic cooperative partnership.” Beijing is Islamabad’s principal arms supplier, while Pakistan consistently supports China’s position on Taiwan.
Taiwanese airlines had largely avoided Russian airspace since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022, although neither Moscow nor Taipei had formally prohibited them from using it. Following the Pakistani restrictions, several Taiwan-Europe flights were rerouted through Russia.
According to Bloomberg, no country had previously imposed a blanket overflight ban on Taiwanese commercial airlines. In April, Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar withdrew overflight clearances for Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te’s aircraft, forcing him to postpone a visit to Eswatini, a southern African country formerly known as Swaziland. Lai eventually made the trip in May.
