Taiwan blames U.S. for revealing information

Taiwan's foreign minister on Friday blamed U.S. officials for revealing information that led to President Chen Shui-bian's plane changing its flight plan in mid-air and making an unscheduled landing in the United Arab Emirates.

Photo: Taiwan blames U.S. for revealing information

Taiwan blames U.S. for revealing information

Chen's plane left Taipei early Thursday morning with the intention of landing in Beirut, Lebanon, on its way to Asuncion, Paraguay, but landed in Abu Dhabi instead after China brought pressure on Lebanese authorities to deny it permission to land.

Foreign Minister James Huang said Taiwan informed the U.S. on Wednesday that Chen might drop a plan to transit through Anchorage, Alaska, the only option the Americans gave him after turning down a Taiwanese request for a more centrally located U.S. transit point.

Taipei passed on the information about the route to U.S. officials "based on our mutual trust ... but they told the news media," Huang said.

He was referring to comments by U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack on Wednesday that Chen would not be transiting Anchorage en route to Paraguay.

Huang said McCormack's revelation led Taiwanese news media to identify Beirut as an alternative transit stop, prompting China's envoy to Lebanon to intervene with Prime Minister Fuad Saniora.

"The strength of their suppression was far beyond (what) anyone could have imagined," he said.

China and Taiwan split amid civil war in 1949. Beijing takes every opportunity to deny the self-governing island the trappings of sovereignty, including pressuring its allies to distance themselves from Taiwanese leaders.

Huang's comments mark a new turn in the continuing diplomatic spat between the United States and Taiwan over Chen's flight route to Latin America, reports the AP.

I.L.