II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 579 

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. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 14, 2013 

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. INHOFE, and Mr. COATS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. CONCERNING THE PARTICIPATION OF TAIWAN 

4 IN THE INTERNATIONAL CIVIL AVIATION OR5 GANIZATION. 

6 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find7 ings: 

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1 (1) Safe, secure, and economical international 

2 air navigation and transport is important to every 

3 citizen of the world, and safe skies are ensured 

4 through uniform aviation standards, harmonization 

5 of security protocols, and expeditious dissemination 

6 of information regarding new regulations and other 

7 relevant matters. 

8 (2) Direct and unobstructed participation in 

9 international civil aviation forums and programs is 

10 beneficial for all nations and their civil aviation au11 thorities. Civil aviation is vital to all due to the 

12 international transit and commerce it makes pos13 sible, but must also be closely regulated due to the 

14 possible use of aircraft as weapons of mass destruc15 tion or to transport biological, chemical, and nuclear 

16 weapons or other dangerous materials. 

17 (3) The Convention on International Civil Avia18 tion, signed at Chicago, Illinois, December 7, 1944, 

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

20 International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), 

21 stating that ‘‘[t]he aims and objectives of the Orga22 nization are to develop the principles and techniques 

23 of international air navigation and to foster the 

24 planning and development of international air trans25 port so as to . . . [m]eet the needs of the peoples 

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1 of the world for safe, regular, efficient and economi2 cal air transport’’. 

3 (4) The terrorist attacks of September 11, 

4 2001, demonstrated that the global civil aviation 

5 network is subject to vulnerabilities that can be ex6 ploited in one country to harm another. The ability 

7 of civil aviation authorities to coordinate, preempt, 

8 and act swiftly and in unison is an essential element 

9 of crisis prevention and response. 

10 (5) Following the terrorist attacks of September 

11 11, 2001, the ICAO convened a high-level Ministe12 rial Conference on Aviation Security that endorsed a 

13 global strategy for strengthening aviation security 

14 worldwide and issued a public declaration that ‘‘a 

15 uniform approach in a global system is essential to 

16 ensure aviation security throughout the world and 

17 that deficiencies in any part of the system constitute 

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

19 should be a commitment to ‘‘foster international co20 operation in the field of aviation security and har21 monize the implementation of security measures’’. 

22 (6) The Taipei Flight Information Region, 

23 under the jurisdiction of Taiwan, covers an airspace 

24 of 180,000 square nautical miles and provides air 

25 traffic control services to over 1,200,000 flights anmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 nually, with the Taiwan Taoyuan International Air2 port recognized as the 10th and 19th largest airport 

3 by international cargo volume and number of inter4 national passengers, respectively, in 2011. 

5 (7) Despite the established international con6 sensus regarding a uniform approach to aviation se7 curity that fosters international cooperation, exclu8 sion from the ICAO since 1971 has impeded the ef9 forts of the Government of Taiwan to maintain civil 

10 aviation practices that comport with evolving inter11 national standards, due to its inability to contact the 

12 ICAO for up-to-date information on aviation stand13 ards and norms, secure amendments to the organi14 zation’s regulations in a timely manner, obtain suffi15 cient and timely information needed to prepare for 

16 the implementation of new systems and procedures 

17 set forth by the ICAO, receive technical assistance 

18 in implementing new regulations, and participate in 

19 technical and academic seminars hosted by the 

20 ICAO. 

21 (8) On October 8, 2010, the Department of 

22 State praised the 37th ICAO Assembly on its adop23 tion of a Declaration on Aviation Security, but noted 

24 that ‘‘because every airport offers a potential entry 

25 point into this global system, every nation faces the 

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1 threat from gaps in aviation security throughout the 

2 world—and all nations must share the responsibility 

3 for securing that system’’. 

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

5 37th participant to join the United States Visa 

6 Waiver program, which is expected to stimulate 

7 tourism and commerce that will rely increasingly on 

8 international commercial aviation. 

9 (10) The Government of Taiwan’s exclusion 

10 from the ICAO constitutes a serious gap in global 

11 standards that should be addressed at the earliest 

12 opportunity in advance of the 38th ICAO Assembly 

13 in September 2013. 

14 (11) The Federal Aviation Administration and 

15 its counterpart agencies in Taiwan have enjoyed 

16 close collaboration on a wide range of issues related 

17 to innovation and technology, civil engineering, safe18 ty and security, and navigation. 

19 (12) The ICAO has allowed a wide range of ob20 servers to participate in the activities of the organi21 zation. 

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

23 Policy Review, declared its intention to support Tai24 wan’s participation in appropriate international ormstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 ganizations and has consistently reiterated that sup2 port. 

3 (14) Senate Concurrent Resolution 17, 112th 

4 Congress, agreed to September 11, 2012, affirmed 

5 the sense of Congress that— 

6 (A) meaningful participation by the Gov7 ernment of Taiwan as an observer in the meet8 ings and activities of the ICAO will contribute 

9 both to the fulfillment of the ICAO’s over10 arching mission and to the success of a global 

11 strategy to address aviation security threats 

12 based on effective international cooperation; 

13 and 

14 (B) the United States Government should 

15 take a leading role in garnering international 

16 support for the granting of observer status to 

17 Taiwan in the ICAO. 

18 (15) Following the enactment of Public Law 

19 108–235 (22 U.S.C. 290 note), a law authorizing 

20 the Secretary of State to initiate and implement a 

21 plan to endorse and obtain observer status for Tai22 wan at the annual summit of the World Health As23 sembly and subsequent advocacy by the United 

24 States, Taiwan was granted observer status to the 

25 World Health Assembly for four consecutive years 

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

2 observer, Taiwan has contributed significantly to the 

3 international community’s collective efforts in pan4 demic control, monitoring, early warning, and other 

5 related matters. 

6 (16) ICAO rules and existing practices allow for 

7 the meaningful participation of noncontracting coun8 tries as well as other bodies in its meetings and ac9 tivities through granting of observer status. 

10 (b) TAIWAN’S PARTICIPATION AT ICAO.—The Sec11 retary of State shall— 

12 (1) develop a strategy to obtain observer status 

13 for Taiwan, at the triennial ICAO Assembly next 

14 held in September 2013 in Montreal, Canada, and 

15 other related meetings, activities, and mechanisms 

16 thereafter; and 

17 (2) instruct the United States Mission to the 

18 ICAO to officially request observer status for Tai19 wan at the triennial ICAO Assembly and other re20 lated meetings, activities, and mechanisms thereafter 

21 and to actively urge ICAO member states to support 

22 such observer status and participation for Taiwan. 

23 (c) REPORT CONCERNING OBSERVER STATUS FOR

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

25 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 retary of State shall submit to Congress a report, in un2 classified form, describing the United States strategy to 

3 endorse and obtain observer status for Taiwan at the tri4 ennial ICAO Assembly and at subsequent ICAO Assem5 blies and at other related meetings, activities, and mecha6 nisms thereafter. The report shall include the following: 

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

8 State has made to encourage ICAO member states 

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

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

11 to endorse and obtain observer status for Taiwan in 

12 ICAO at the triennial ICAO Assembly and at other 

13 related meetings, activities, and mechanisms there14 after. 

Æ 

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