Sawt Falasteen - Taiwan says Pakistan briefly closed airspace to Taiwanese flights

"We suspect definitely China was behind this," Deputy Foreign Minister Chen Ming-chi told AFP after confirming that Pakistan had closed and reopened its airspace to Taiwanese airlines.

China Airlines and EVA Air, which are both based in Taiwan, normally fly over Pakistan on their Asia-Europe route.

Last weekend, however, they began rerouting their Europe-bound flights further south over the Gulf or further north over Russia, AFP analysis of flight tracking data shows.

Some Taiwanese flights have resumed flying over Pakistan, according to the latest data.

"China Airlines and EVA received a notice from the Pakistan authorities that they will lift the ban, but only temporarily... till the end of the winter," Chen said.

Neither airline would confirm that Pakistan had closed or reopened its airspace when contacted by AFP.

"We condemn Pakistan, and if China is behind this, I think that is a very bad practice to use its leverage over the countries in the Global South to do that," Chen said.

"I think that gets in the way of the safety of the passengers and the smooth operation of the global supply chain."

Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told Bloomberg News on Wednesday that the airspace was closed in adherence with Beijing's "One China policy".

China's foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told reporters on Thursday that "as far as we are aware, there are no obstacles for residents of the Taiwan region to travel internationally".

- 'Isolate Taiwan' -

China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and opposes the self-governed island's participation in international organisations and exchanges with other countries.

Chen said it was the first time a country had closed its airspace to Taiwanese commercial flights.

In April, the Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar revoked overflight permits for Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te's flight to Eswatini, Taipei's only African ally, forcing him to postpone the trip.

At the time, Taiwan blamed "intense pressure" from China for the revocation.

"China now learned that this could be an effective way to block our airspace access and therefore sort of further isolate Taiwan," Chen said.

"We see this is the discovery that they can weaponise the airspace assets."

Taiwan does not have formal diplomatic ties with Pakistan, which has close relations with China.

Chen said "many like-minded" countries had assisted Taiwan over the airspace closure.

"We are afraid that this might be a practice that spreads to other Global South countries," Chen said.

"I think that is a major concern for not only for Taiwan, but also for other countries in the region and beyond."

Pakistan and China have maintained close diplomatic and strategic relations for decades, often describing their partnership as an "all-weather friendship" that is "higher than the Himalayas, deeper than the oceans, sweeter than honey and stronger than steel".

China is Pakistan's largest trading partner and a major investor, particularly through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), and has poured tens of billions of dollars into funding massive transport, energy and infrastructure projects.

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B.AbuZeid--SF-PST