KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will continue to advocate and strengthen maritime and oceanographic research for a sustainable South China Sea as many nations sharing the sea depend on its living and non-living natural resources for food, trade, transport, tourism and security.
Ministry of Energy, Science, Technology, Environment and Climate Change (Mestecc) deputy secretary-general (Science, Technology and Innovation), Dr Mohd Nor Azman Hassan said this in his speech text read by Industry Division secretary, Norsham Abdul Latip.
“Unfortunately, the South China Sea is facing a plethora of threats from climate change, pollution, over- exploitation of its resources, including the modifications of coastal and natural marine environments.
“Therefore, Mestecc will play its role in ensuring environmental sustainability which are pollution-free and resistant to the threats of climate change,” he said at the opening of the 3rd South China Sea Conference 2019 (SCS2019), here, today
Mohd Nor Azman also said that towards a blue economy, it was also crucial that sustainable economic development be balanced with the conservation and safeguarding of marine resources and environment.
The four-day SCS2019 brings together ocean stakeholders from various sectors and serves as a platform for the exchange of information concerning research activities in the South China Sea.
Meanwhile, Institute of Ocean and Earth Sciences (IOES) Senior Research Fellow, Prof Datuk Dr Azizan Abu Samah said South China Sea, especially the Straits of Malacca, was the second busiest straits in the world.
He pointed out the area is geographically sitting at the most important transport and biodiversity route.
“The Straits of Malacca receives approximately 200 vessels per day as a transit of transfer.
“(Therefore), we must appreciate the importance of the Straits of Malacca and South China Sea to our economy and (food) security wellbeing, and put it as a much higher agenda in terms of our policies” he told reporters on the sidelines of the conference. – Bernama
