M503 Flight route fold

A good photo of one of these fierce creatures always makes me happy.

I haven't been writing on this because (1) did not know the backstory and (2) it was obvious what the Ma Administration would do anyway. To wit:

WantWant says that the Taiwan gov't did a(nother) kowtow to Beijing:

While the United States has praised consensus reached by the two sides of the Taiwan Strait on a controversial commercial flight route that comes close to the median line of the strait, Taiwan's main opposition party wants the government to be held liable for what it describes as a failure to properly handle the controversy.

What "consensus"? Nothing like that was reported in the local media. FocusTaiwan, the government news organ, says:

But Taiwan strongly opposed the plan, saying it was not adequately consulted beforehand, and raised concerns the new routes would jeopardise the safety of Taiwan's flights in the area.

Following a meeting in Shanghai, Taiwan's government announced on March 2 that Beijing would delay launching the M503 north-south route, and not open the three east-west paths at this stage.

China has become adept at this salami slicing policy, and US officialdom, with their reflexive support of Beijing because OMG TENSION, are simply feeding this monster by regarding all Taiwanese resistance to Chinese annexation as "causing tension". One thing the US does understand well is the use of the term "consensus" to signal "surrender to the greater power" -- how very Chinese...

Looks to me like they got a face saving delay from China, which otherwise ignored Taiwan's needs. Just another one of those generous benefits of dealing with China, eh?
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