KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will continue to advocate and strengthen its maritime and oceanographic research in a sustainable way to protect the South China Sea.
The deputy secretary general of the Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change Ministry, Mohd Nor Azman Hassan, said the South China Sea was an important sea shared by many nations that depend on its resources for food, trade, transport, tourism and security.
“Unfortunately, the South China Sea is facing a plethora of threats from climate change, pollution, over exploitation of resources , including the modification of coastal and natural marine environment,” he said in his speech read out by Norsham Abdul Latip at the third South China Sea Conference 2019 at the University of Malaya today.
He said the ministry needed to ensure environmental sustainability and would strive towards a blue economy which safeguards our marine resources and the environment.
Senior Research Fellow of the Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Professor Datuk Azizan Haji Abu Samah told reporters that Malaysia lacked an appreciation of the South China Sea, especially the Straits of Malacca.
“We are geographically sitting at a very important transport and biodiversity route,” he added.
“Any pollution will have a major impact on the Straits of Malacca as it is the second busiest strait in the world and acts as the most vital transit hub with about 200 vessels passing through every day”, Azizan said.
More than 150 delegates from the marine scientific institutions from 15 countries are attending the conference that will address issues concerning the declining health of the ocean.
Conference chairman Professor Sumiani Yusoff, who is also the director of the Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences, University of Malaya, said the conference is an opportunity for ocean stakeholders from various sectors to help improve the condition of the ocean for sustainable development and protection.
Sumiani said the four-day programme served as a platform to exchange information concerning the South China Sea and forging more strategic partnerships.
