MANILA: One of the Philippines’ biggest airlines said yesterday it had cancelled the planned launch of a new Taiwan route because of tensions over a Taiwanese fisherman killed by the Filipino coastguard.
Cebu Pacific had been scheduled to begin flights between Cebu, the Philippines’ second-biggest city, and Taiwan’s capital, Taipei, in July but indefinitely suspended the route, an airline spokeswoman said.
“It would be a bit difficult to start it with the current tension... some passengers (had) already requested refunds or travel changes” Candice Iyog said. She said an existing route between Manila and Taipei would be kept.
Budget carrier Zest Airlines said last week it had cancelled flights between Taiwan and Kalibo, a gateway to the popular beach resort of Boracay.
Coastguard officers shot dead the 65-year-old Taiwanese on May 9 who they said was aboard a boat fishing illegally in Philippine waters.
Taiwan, which said the incident took place in its economic zone, issued a “red alert” against travelling to the Philippines and imposed sanctions. The zones claimed by both sides overlap in some areas. It rejected apologies from the Philippines and demanded that criminal charges be brought against those responsible for the killing.
Taiwan has also frozen the hiring of overseas Filipino workers, and an invitation for the Philippine national basketball team to play in a regional tournament in Taipei was rescinded.
A Philippine Navy official meanwhile said the newly acquired Hamilton class-cutter warship BRP Ramon Alcaraz (PF-16) will be equipped with an anti-submarine warfare capability that can track and destroy enemy submarines.
Lieutenant Commander Gregory Fabic said plans had been drawn to equip the Alcaraz undergoing trials off North Charleston, South Carolina, with a weapons and technology for anti-submarine warfare. Agencies
