NEWSFLASH

RP-TAIWAN OKAY FRESH AIR TALKS

Manila, July 1, 2000 - Thr Philippines and Taiwan have agreed to start a new round of talks on ending a long-standing aviation dispute that resulted in the cut of direct air links between the two neighbors.

Rodolfo Reyes, head of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office, the Philippines’ de facto embassy in Taiwan, said his Taiwanese counterpart in Manila agreed that negotiations should be resumed as soon as possible.

Air links between Taiwan and the Philippines were cut in early October after Manila unilaterally scrapped a 1996 aviation pact. Subsequent negotiations have failed to settle the dispute.

Manila has accused Taiwan’s Eva Air and China Airlines of abusing the pact by flying many passengers to third countries and by stealing customers from debt-strapped Philippine Airlines. Air links were briefly restored earlier this year.

Reyes said the cessation of direct flights has led to a sharp decline in arrivals of Taiwanese tourists in the Philippines and has hurt the activities of Taiwanese electronics factories in the Philippines. It has also made air travel between the two countries more costly for Filipinos working in Taiwan, who have to make costly stopovers in neighboring countries.

Around 115,000 Filipinos currently work legally in Taiwan, and many more work without official approval.