113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 579 

AN ACT 

To direct the Secretary of State to develop a strategy to 

obtain observer status for Taiwan at the triennial International Civil Aviation Organization Assembly, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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1 SECTION 1. CONCERNING THE PARTICIPATION OF TAIWAN 

2 IN THE INTERNATIONAL CIVIL AVIATION OR3 GANIZATION. 

4 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find5 ings: 

6 (1) Safe, secure, and economical international 

7 air navigation and transport is important to every 

8 citizen of the world, and safe skies are ensured 

9 through uniform aviation standards, harmonization 

10 of security protocols, and expeditious dissemination 

11 of information regarding new regulations and other 

12 relevant matters. 

13 (2) Direct and unobstructed participation in 

14 international civil aviation forums and programs is 

15 beneficial for all nations and their civil aviation au16 thorities. Civil aviation is vital to all due to the 

17 international transit and commerce it makes pos18 sible, but must also be closely regulated due to the 

19 possible use of aircraft as weapons of mass destruc20 tion or to transport biological, chemical, and nuclear 

21 weapons or other dangerous materials. 

22 (3) The Convention on International Civil Avia23 tion, signed at Chicago, Illinois, December 7, 1944, 

24 and entered into force April 4, 1947, established the 

25 International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), 

26 stating that ‘‘[t]he aims and objectives of the Orga-
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1 nization are to develop the principles and techniques 

2 of international air navigation and to foster the 

3 planning and development of international air trans4 port so as to . . . [m]eet the needs of the peoples 

5 of the world for safe, regular, efficient and economi6 cal air transport’’. 

7 (4) The terrorist attacks of September 11, 

8 2001, demonstrated that the global civil aviation 

9 network is subject to vulnerabilities that can be ex10 ploited in one country to harm another. The ability 

11 of civil aviation authorities to coordinate, preempt, 

12 and act swiftly and in unison is an essential element 

13 of crisis prevention and response. 

14 (5) Following the terrorist attacks of September 

15 11, 2001, the ICAO convened a high-level Ministe16 rial Conference on Aviation Security that endorsed a 

17 global strategy for strengthening aviation security 

18 worldwide and issued a public declaration that ‘‘a 

19 uniform approach in a global system is essential to 

20 ensure aviation security throughout the world and 

21 that deficiencies in any part of the system constitute 

22 a threat to the entire global system,’’ and that there 

23 should be a commitment to ‘‘foster international co24 operation in the field of aviation security and har25 monize the implementation of security measures’’. 
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1 (6) The Taipei Flight Information Region, 

2 under the jurisdiction of Taiwan, covers an airspace 

3 of 180,000 square nautical miles and provides air 

4 traffic control services to over 1,200,000 flights an5 nually, with the Taiwan Taoyuan International Air6 port recognized as the 10th and 19th largest airport 

7 by international cargo volume and number of inter8 national passengers, respectively, in 2011. 

9 (7) Despite the established international con10 sensus regarding a uniform approach to aviation se11 curity that fosters international cooperation, exclu12 sion from the ICAO since 1971 has impeded the ef13 forts of the Government of Taiwan to maintain civil 

14 aviation practices that comport with evolving inter15 national standards, due to its inability to contact the 

16 ICAO for up-to-date information on aviation stand17 ards and norms, secure amendments to the organi18 zation’s regulations in a timely manner, obtain suffi19 cient and timely information needed to prepare for 

20 the implementation of new systems and procedures 

21 set forth by the ICAO, receive technical assistance 

22 in implementing new regulations, and participate in 

23 technical and academic seminars hosted by the 

24 ICAO. 
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1 (8) On October 8, 2010, the Department of 

2 State praised the 37th ICAO Assembly on its adop3 tion of a Declaration on Aviation Security, but noted 

4 that ‘‘because every airport offers a potential entry 

5 point into this global system, every nation faces the 

6 threat from gaps in aviation security throughout the 

7 world—and all nations must share the responsibility 

8 for securing that system’’. 

9 (9) On October 2, 2012, Taiwan became the 

10 37th participant to join the United States Visa 

11 Waiver program, which is expected to stimulate 

12 tourism and commerce that will rely increasingly on 

13 international commercial aviation. 

14 (10) The Government of Taiwan’s exclusion 

15 from the ICAO constitutes a serious gap in global 

16 standards that should be addressed at the earliest 

17 opportunity in advance of the 38th ICAO Assembly 

18 in September 2013. 

19 (11) The Federal Aviation Administration and 

20 its counterpart agencies in Taiwan have enjoyed 

21 close collaboration on a wide range of issues related 

22 to innovation and technology, civil engineering, safe23 ty and security, and navigation. 
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1 (12) The ICAO has allowed a wide range of ob2 servers to participate in the activities of the organi3 zation. 

4 (13) The United States, in the 1994 Taiwan 

5 Policy Review, declared its intention to support Tai6 wan’s participation in appropriate international or7 ganizations and has consistently reiterated that sup8 port. 

9 (14) Senate Concurrent Resolution 17, 112th 

10 Congress, agreed to September 11, 2012, affirmed 

11 the sense of Congress that— 

12 (A) meaningful participation by the Gov13 ernment of Taiwan as an observer in the meet14 ings and activities of the ICAO will contribute 

15 both to the fulfillment of the ICAO’s over16 arching mission and to the success of a global 

17 strategy to address aviation security threats 

18 based on effective international cooperation; 

19 and 

20 (B) the United States Government should 

21 take a leading role in garnering international 

22 support for the granting of observer status to 

23 Taiwan in the ICAO. 

24 (15) Following the enactment of Public Law 

25 108–235 (22 U.S.C. 290 note), a law authorizing 
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1 the Secretary of State to initiate and implement a 

2 plan to endorse and obtain observer status for Tai3 wan at the annual summit of the World Health As4 sembly and subsequent advocacy by the United 

5 States, Taiwan was granted observer status to the 

6 World Health Assembly for four consecutive years 

7 since 2009. Both prior to, and in its capacity as an 

8 observer, Taiwan has contributed significantly to the 

9 international community’s collective efforts in pan10 demic control, monitoring, early warning, and other 

11 related matters. 

12 (16) ICAO rules and existing practices allow for 

13 the meaningful participation of noncontracting coun14 tries as well as other bodies in its meetings and ac15 tivities through granting of observer status. 

16 (b) TAIWAN’S PARTICIPATION AT ICAO.—The Sec17 retary of State shall— 

18 (1) develop a strategy to obtain observer status 

19 for Taiwan, at the triennial ICAO Assembly next 

20 held in September 2013 in Montreal, Canada, and 

21 other related meetings, activities, and mechanisms 

22 thereafter; and 

23 (2) instruct the United States Mission to the 

24 ICAO to officially request observer status for Tai25 wan at the triennial ICAO Assembly and other re-
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1 lated meetings, activities, and mechanisms thereafter 

2 and to actively urge ICAO member states to support 

3 such observer status and participation for Taiwan. 

4 (c) REPORT CONCERNING OBSERVER STATUS FOR

5 TAIWAN AT THE ICAO ASSEMBLY.—Not later than 30 

6 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec7 retary of State shall submit to Congress a report, in un8 classified form, describing the United States strategy to 

9 endorse and obtain observer status for Taiwan at the tri10 ennial ICAO Assembly and at subsequent ICAO Assem11 blies and at other related meetings, activities, and mecha12 nisms thereafter. The report shall include the following: 

13 (1) A description of the efforts the Secretary of 

14 State has made to encourage ICAO member states 

15 to promote Taiwan’s bid to obtain observer status. 

16 (2) The steps the Secretary of State will take 

17 to endorse and obtain observer status for Taiwan in 

18 ICAO at the triennial ICAO Assembly and at other 

19 related meetings, activities, and mechanisms there20 after. 

Passed the Senate June 19, 2013. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 579 

AN ACT 

To direct the Secretary of State to develop a strattion Assembly, and for other purposes. triennial International Civil Aviation Organiza- egy to obtain observer status for Taiwan at the