Dongsha Atoll National Park in the South China Sea hopes to be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, the park headquarters said over the weekend.
Based on the ecological diversity of the area around the atoll, the headquarters said it plans to apply for UNESCO World Heritage status for the 356,500-hectare national park.
SCOPE
The park includes Dongsha Island (東沙島), 12 nautical miles (22km) of territorial waters and 80,000 hectares of a protected atoll area that is the largest and the most intact in the west Pacific Ocean.
It contains 281 types of coral, 229 of which are scleractinia, or stony corals, that make up 81.5 percent of all stony corals within the territory of the Republic of China. The atoll, near the Dongsha Islands, or Pratas Islands, was named the country’s first oceanic national park and the seventh national park in 2007.
As of last year, it was host to about 236 species of birds, 10 species of crustaceans and numerous marine species, according to park administration.
CORAL REEFS
Furthermore, the variety of the coral reefs in that area is ecologically important, particularly in light of the rapid disappearance of coral reefs worldwide, the park administration said.
About 30 percent of the world’s coral reefs have already disappeared because of multiple factors, including climate change, and another 30 percent will be gone in two to four decades, it said.
The headquarters said Dongsha park is engaged in various marine protection activities and global oceanic scientific research, which could help it to gain recognition soon as a heritage site.
Since its establishment as a national park, the area has not been open to tourism for ecological protection and restoration, the park administration said.
An evaluation will be carried out next year to determine whether the park is suitable for tourism, it added.
ECO CAMP
Meanwhile, at a four-day eco camp on Dongsha Island earlier this month, 23 Taiwanese students majoring in marine affairs, international relations and related fields were given the opportunity to observe the area’s ecosystem.
The camp was the start of a program organized by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of National Defense, the Marine National Park Headquarters and Greater Kaohsiung Marine Bureau to promote the government’s efforts to preserve the natural environment and reinforce the nation’s claim to the island.
Taiwan, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines claim part or all of the archipelagos in the South China Sea.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard