A ministry of oceans or a council on maritime affairs should be created so that the nation can assert sovereignty over its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), Aviation Safety Council Chairperson Hwung Hwung-hweng (黃煌煇) said yesterday.
Hwung made the remarks at a forum on emerging ocean technology and boosting the nation’s competitiveness, which was organized by the Kaohsiung City Government and the Forward-looking Society.
Apart from its territorial waters that extend for 12 nautical miles (22.2km), Taiwan can also claim sovereignty over its EEZ, which can be seven times larger than the nation’s area and extend up to 200 nautical miles, he said.
The government should demarcate its EEZ as soon as possible so that its neighbors — such as China, Japan and the Philippines — would seek negotiations, he said.
Appointed council chairperson in December 2015, Hwung is a renowned hydraulic and ocean engineering expert and was president of National Cheng Kung University from 2011 to 2015.
The nation needs more professionals and equipment to develop its offshore wind energy industry, especially when foreign developers are expected to prompt an investment of NT$2 trillion (US$67.7 billion) in the sector, forum speaker and National Taiwan Ocean University vice president Hsu Tai-wen (許泰文) said.
Many components of the industry are still wanting, such as underwater heritage documentation and techniques for welding, ocean engineering and wind turbine maintenance, Hsu said, adding that professional vessels — such as geophysical survey ships, jack-up barges, heavy-lifting ships, turbine construction vessels and service crew vessels — are also lacking.
Divers and specialists trained for public relations, negotiation or translation are insufficient, he said.
The domestic ocean engineering industry is taking off, but institutions have difficulty recruiting students, as parents cannot envision the industry’s future, Taiwan Oceanic Research Institute director Wang Chao-chang (王兆璋) said.
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
Instead of threatening tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, the US should try to reinforce cooperation with Taiwan on semiconductor development to take on challenges from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), a Taiwanese think tank said. The administration of US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose across-the-board import duties of 32 percent on Taiwan-made goods and levy a separate tariff on semiconductors, which Taiwan is hoping to avoid. The Research Institute for Democracy, Society, and Emerging Technology (DSET), a National Science and Technology Council think tank, said that US efforts should focus on containing China’s semiconductor rise rather than impairing Taiwan. “Without
An SOS message in a bottle has been found in Ireland that is believed to have come from the Taiwanese captain of fishing vessel Yong Yu Sing No. 18 (永裕興18號), who has been missing without a trace for over four years, along with nine Indonesian crew members. The vessel, registered to Suao (蘇澳), went missing near Hawaii on Dec. 30, 2020. The ship has since been recovered, but the 10 crew members have never been found. The captain, surnamed Lee (李), is believed to have signed the note with his name. A post appeared on Reddit on Tuesday after a man
RSS