OCEAN GOVERNANCE:
The new center would operate a marine survey vessel project and national ship model laboratory to deepen Taiwan’s understanding of its own waters
By Hung Chen-hung and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer
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The Taiwan Institute of Ocean Technology would bolster the nation’s capability to survey its own waters and counter Chinese attempts to seize the narrative over maritime jurisdiction, Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said yesterday at the center’s inauguration. Kuan and President William Lai (賴清德) jointly presided over the unveiling ceremony for the institute at the council’s building in Kaohsiung. The institute is chaired by a council deputy minister.
President William Lai, center left, and Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling, center right, attend the unveiling ceremony of the National Institute of Ocean Technology in Kaohsiung yesterday.
Photo: Lee Hui-chou, Taipei Times
China has over the past few years continuously harassed Taiwan, holding military exercises and deploying coast guard vessels and maritime militia boats, while its research and survey vessels collected seabed topography, geology and hydrological data in Taiwan’s waters, Kuan said. Citing council data, she said that China has deployed at least 74 coast guard and research vessels, and has published at least 65 international papers in the past decade concerning Taiwan’s contiguous waters in a bid to seize the narrative and jurisdiction over these maritime areas.
Taiwan cannot afford to know less about its own waters than other nations, she said. Toward this end, the government launched a marine survey vessel project and pushed ahead with a national ship model laboratory to bolster the nation’s shipbuilding capability, she said. Ocean technology concerns not only national security, but also regional peace and global prosperity, she added. The vessels and the laboratory are the institute’s two core facilities, and talent is the key to making them effective, Kuan said. As an administrative corporation, the institute can use flexible systems to attract and retain professionals, she said, inviting people working in marine surveys, ship research, hydrodynamics, and navigation and marine engineering to join the center. The president said the institute would operate the two core facilities of Taiwan’s ocean technology governance and serve as a cross-disciplinary research platform. The National Academy of Marine Research in August launched the 100-tonne-class Blue Ocean 101 and 300-tonne-class Blue Ocean 102 marine survey vessels. The vessels will continue surveying Taiwan’s waters and gathering key data on hydrology, geology and ecology, while the laboratory will fill gaps in the nation’s high-end ship-testing capacity and support ship design, performance testing and the development of key technologies, Lai said. The institute will also support the academy’s research missions so that researchers have steady access to survey and testing resources, he said. Collecting ocean data through independent surveys and monitoring the surrounding waters would improve maritime domain awareness and decisionmaking, bolstering national security and the resilience of maritime governance, Lai said. It would also support the shipbuilding and marine industries and raise Taiwan’s international competitiveness, he said. Advancing ocean technology is part of an overall national strategy, he said. The government will continue to promote cross-disciplinary cooperation, build up expertise and improve its systems for recruiting, training and retaining talent, so that young people and experienced professionals can commit to the field for the long term, he said.