|
Taiwan, Japan, ease
rules with aviation accord
AFP, TAaipei
Taiwan yesterday signed an open skies agreement with Japan, lifting restrictions
on the number of carriers allowed to offer scheduled passenger services between
the two countries.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it hoped the deal would help spur tourism
between Taiwan and Japan.
Under the agreement, restrictions on the number of carriers providing regular
passenger services on profitable routes ˇX currently two from each side ˇX will be
lifted.
Taiwanese air carriers will be allowed to offer unlimited flights to any
Japanese destination except Tokyo.
The main airlines to be affected by the deal are China Airlines, EVA Airways,
Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways.
According to the Civil Aeronautics Administration, Japan is the third country to
sign an open skies agreement with Taiwan, following the US and Singapore.
A total of 923,000 Japanese visited Taiwan in the nine months to September, an
increase of nearly 50 percent over the previous year.
During the same period, the number of Taiwanese tourists traveling to Japan fell
21 percent to 845,000 in the wake of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, the
Tourism Bureau said.
On Sept. 22, Taiwan and Japan signed an investment protection accord, a move
that has helped ease investment barriers and offer greater investment
protection.
Japan is Taiwanˇ¦s fifth-largest trading partner and bilateral trade totaled
US$70 billion last year. Taiwan exported US$12.23 billion in goods to Japan from
January to August, up 3.5 percent from the same period last year, government
data showed.
Additional reporting by staff writer
|
