Foreign experts on marine law, policy and sciences yesterday gathered in Kaohsiung for the International Dongsha Conference, where an Indonesian expert urged nations in the South China Sea area — including Taiwan and China — to conduct “informal” research programs together.
The two-day conference on the Pratas Islands, which Taiwan calls the Dongsha Islands (東沙群島) and administers as a national park, opened on Thursday.
On the first day, Ocean Affairs Council Deputy Minister Chuang Ching-ta (莊慶達) accompanied Kiribati Ambassador to Taiwan Tessie Eria Lambourne; Thailand Trade and Economic Office Executive Director Thongchai Chasawath; and nearly 70 experts from the US, UK, Canada, Belgium, Japan, Indonesia, India, Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines on a visit to the atoll.
It was the first international meeting hosted by the council since its creation on April 28 last year, council Minister Lee Chung-wei (李仲威) told the gathering in Kaohsiung yesterday.
That conference aimed to promote Taiwan’s ecological conservation efforts on the atoll and included speeches related to marine law and policy, ocean research, maritime industry and culture, he said.
How to promote joint research projects became a focal issue during the first panel discussion coordinated by Lin Cheng-yi (林正義), director of the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, a think tank inaugurated last year by the Ministry of National Defense.
Hasjim Djalal, a former Indonesian ambassador to the UN and founder of Indonesia’s Center for Southeast Asian Studies, raised concerns over the problem of marine waste, citing as examples the Philippines’ and Malaysia’s refusals to import plastic waste from other countries.
He urged nations in the region to undertake informal scientific research dealing with the marine environment and biodiversity without touching on territorial disputes.
From the audience, Academia Sinica Institute of European and American Studies research fellow Song Yann-huei (宋燕輝) asked Djalal if Indonesia would invite US President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to attend the 30th Workshop on Managing Potential Conflicts in the South China Sea next year.
The anniversary should be marked by the attendance of higher authorities from across the globe, Song said, adding that Taiwanese experts have informally participated in the workshop since 1991.
Djalal said that they would invite those interested in attending the meeting, but have not yet decided on the invitees.
As China and ASEAN members are drafting a South China Sea code of conduct, Taiwan should voice its desire to join the code or assert its importance in the region through other ways, Song said.
Even if Taiwan claims the Pratas Islands and Itu Aba Island (Taiping Island, 太平島), it might be rejected from regional collaboration, such as law enforcement and disaster rescue efforts, if it does not play a part in the code, he said.
Lacking direct access to the draft code, the council has been collecting related information through think tanks and other channels, Department of International Development Director Joseph Hsieh (謝亞杰) said.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS