Pakistan closes airspace to airlines from Taiwan due to ‘one China policy’ in world-first

Pakistan has become the first country in the world to close its airspace to Taiwanese airlines in support of Beijing's One China policy.

Pakistan, a close ally and neighbour of China, confirmed the decision on Wednesday following reports that Taiwanese carriers had begun taking longer routes to avoid its airspace.

"The aviation division follows the One China policy – only mainland China is allowed," Pakistan's defence minister Khawaja Asif told Bloomberg News.

"We have permitted only Chinese airlines to fly over Pakistan."

The move marks the first reported instance of a country closing its airspace to Taiwanese carriers explicitly over its adherence to the One China principle, under which Beijing considers Taiwan an inalienable part of its territory.

The decision came after aviation observers noticed that some Taiwanese flights had been taking longer routes, flying entirely over Russia to reach Europe since the weekend.

On 24 October, a China Airlines flight from Taipei to Rome travelled through Russian airspace, avoiding its previous route through India, Pakistan and Turkmenistan, according to Flightradar24 data.

Flight path of China Airlines shows new route being taken by Taiwanese carriers (Flightradar)

At least a dozen of their Asia–Europe flights have instead routed over Russia.

Pakistan was one of the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China in 1951 and has since maintained close political, economic and strategic ties with Beijing, describing their relationship as an "all-weather" partnership.

Unlike the United States and several other countries that maintain unofficial relations with Taiwan, Islamabad has limited engagement with Taipei and firmly opposes Taiwanese independence.

Pakistan has repeatedly reaffirmed its position, most recently on 2 January, when its foreign office described Taiwan as an "inalienable part" of China and reiterated its commitment to the One China principle.

The principle, which Beijing considers a fundamental condition for establishing diplomatic relations, holds that there is only one China, that Taiwan is part of its territory and that the People's Republic of China is its sole legitimate government.

However, democratically elected Taiwan – a small island of 23 million people – has rejected Beijing's ‌sovereignty claims and enjoys de facto independence even if that is not formally recognised by most countries.

Currently, only 12 countries maintain formal ties with Taipei, mostly small developing nations such as Belize and Tuvalu.

This comes as Taiwanese airlines already cannot overfly mainland China for political reasons.

Many airlines have also been avoiding flying over Russia since February 2022, although they were not formally banned from using the airspace. The decision is in line with many Asian, European and North American carriers.

The Independent has written to Taiwan's Civil Aviation Administration for comment.