BANGKOK - The Taiwanese government has signed an Air Transport Agreement with Paraguay to expand aviation routes to an additional destination besides the two capitals of Asuncion and Taipei, an epa journalist reports.

The pact to boost air transport was agreed upon in Asuncion during a trip to the South American nation by Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, who met with Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes at the Government Palace on Tuesday.

The move to boost bilateral aviation cooperation comes during the same week that 2,000 flight attendants at national flagship carrier China Airlines (CAL) launched a strike, sparking a wave of demands from aviation workers in Taipei for higher wages and more benefits.

President Cartes, who attended Tsai's inauguration into office on May 20, has remained one of Taiwan's closest allies in South America since the island nation withdrew from the United Nations in 1971 at the behest of the People's Republic of China.

China continues to view Taiwan as a rebellious province, but has not been successful in severing trade ties for the fifth largest Asian economy, considered a powerhouse for electronics manufacturing.

Tsai departs from Asuncion tomorrow on a CAL flight, the second leg of her nine-day trip to boost bilateral ties with Panama and Paraguay.