Vice Premier Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) yesterday inaugurated the National Academy of Marine Research in Kaohsiung, saying that it would boost the nation’s international participation in ocean affairs.
Establishment of the academy, which is overseen by the Ocean Affairs Council (OAC), comes almost a year after the council was established on April 28 last year.
The academy is tasked with planning ocean-related policy, assembling research and developing marine industries, Chen said.
Photo: CNA
It is also expected to boost connections between the nation and the global community by increasing participation at conferences and organizations, he said, adding that he hopes it would lead Taiwan to become a safe and prosperous maritime nation.
Academy Acting Director-General Chiu Yung-fang (邱永芳), a professor in National Sun Yat-sen University’s department of marine environment and engineering, accepted the agency’s seal from OAC Minister Lee Chung-wei (李仲威).
The Executive Yuan has authorized the academy to hire 80 officials, but it has only recruited 15, academy spokesperson Lin Shih-chang (林世昌) said.
The academy’s focus this year includes drafting a sea area management bill for areas beyond 3 nautical miles (5.4km) of the nation’s coastline, as well as conducting research on ocean current energy generation and marine geology in waters off the southeastern coast, Lin said.
The academy said in a press release that it also plans to build a fleet of ocean research vessels, which might mean its mission could overlap with the Taiwan Ocean Research Institute of the National Applied Research Laboratories.
The academy would seek to collaborate with the institute, as the latter has more research resources, Lin said.
Decisions on building vessels would be determined by higher authorities, he said.
It would be better for the nation to have different agencies managing official and non-official research vessels, an academic said on condition of anonymity.
A vessel’s basic information, including whether it is government-owned, can be viewed on the global Automatic Identification System, while its identity would influence its activity in territorial waters of foreign nations, the academic said.
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
Prosecutors today declined to say who was questioned regarding alleged forgery on petitions to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, after Chinese-language media earlier reported that members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth League were brought in for questioning. The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau confirmed that two people had been questioned, but did not disclose any further information about the ongoing investigation. KMT Youth League members Lee Hsiao-liang (李孝亮) and Liu Szu-yin (劉思吟) — who are leading the effort to recall DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) — both posted on Facebook saying: “I
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 today amid outcry over his decision to wear a Nazi armband to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case last night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and covering the book with his coat. Lee said today that this is a serious
A mountain blaze that broke out yesterday morning in Yangmingshan National Park was put out after five hours, following multi agency efforts involving dozens of fire trucks and helicopter water drops. The fire might have been sparked by an air quality sensor operated by the National Center for High-Performance Computing, one of the national-level laboratories under the National Applied Research Laboratories, Yangmingshan National Park Headquarters said. The Taipei City Fire Department said the fire, which broke out at about 11am yesterday near the mountainous Xiaoyoukeng (小油坑) Recreation Area was extinguished at 4:32pm. It had initially dispatched 72 personnel in four command vehicles, 16
RSS