Taiwan Today

Taiwan is implementing regulatory frameworks aimed at transforming the country into a true maritime nation.

In April 2018 Taiwan saw over a decade of preparatory work on a specialized agency to oversee marine matters culminate in the launch of the Cabinet-level Ocean Affairs Council (OAC). During the opening ceremony at the council’s headquarters in the southern port city of Kaohsiung, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) lauded efforts to consolidate the work of more than 20 central government organizations into one policymaking body. “The milestone move not only indicates Taiwan’s determination to concentrate on marine affairs but also highlights the nation’s consensus that the ocean is a critical path forward in our sustainable development,” she said. “We’re an ocean state, and the sea is in our blood.”
 
The OAC marked its first anniversary with the promulgation of the Ocean Basic Act (OBA), which vows to safeguard marine rights and interests while advancing related industries. The “National Ocean Policy White Paper” was subsequently released a year later, providing a detailed blueprint for central and local governments to promote ocean affairs. Guidelines included in the paper cover topics ranging from safeguarding national maritime rights, advancing environmental protection, enhancing scientific research and improving industrial development to promoting regional and international cooperation on marine issues. In celebration of the U.N.’s World Oceans Day and Taiwan’s National Oceans Day, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) gave the document his seal of approval on June 8 that year.

Shortly thereafter, the Executive Yuan announced its Salute to the Seas policy, a companion to the Salute to the Mountains initiative introduced the previous year to expand access to mountain and forest areas nationwide. Both projects are guided by the principles of upholding education, openness, service, transparency and responsibility. By encouraging people to better understand and engage with the ocean, Su envisions a country not limited by, but made great by its surrounding waters.
 
Though Taiwan is an island with abundant offshore resources, an ocean-oriented mentality never fully developed in the country due to nearly four decades of martial law, which restricted civilians from entering most coastal areas until its lifting in 1987. According to OAC Deputy Minister Tsai Ching-piao (蔡清標), this is why the council seeks to enhance maritime domain awareness (MDA) among government agencies and the private sector. “Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone covers five times the area of its landmass,” he said. “We need to better grasp what’s occurring in our ocean territories in terms of environmental conservation, scientific research and threats to public security.”
 
To this end, the OAC is conducting a comprehensive survey of the country’s sea areas to collect fundamental ecological, geological and hydrological data, and research projects in collaboration with academic institutions are underway to help build MDA-based mechanisms and response systems. The government also exchanges information with like-minded partners such as Australia, Japan and the U.S., the deputy minister said. “The collected facts and data have yet to form a complete picture,” Tsai said. “Further work is necessary to lay a solid foundation on which to advance research, business development and other ocean matters.”
 
United Action
 
The OAC, which consists of the Ocean Conservation Administration, National Academy of Marine Research and Coast Guard Administration (CGA), is committed to facilitating communication and coordination on ocean issues with other ministries. Among its subordinate agencies, the CGA plays an integral part in expanding indigenous defense capabilities, which the central government has named one of six core strategic industries targeted for accelerated growth. Under a shipbuilding program initiated in 2018, more than 100 ships of different types will be produced over the next decade. “Such vessels are critical to defending national sovereignty and protecting fishing rights,” Tsai said. “As a maritime law enforcement authority, we’ll continue to perform high seas patrols; prevent illegal, unreported and unregulated [IUU] fishing; and conduct goodwill visits to our allies and like-minded partners.”
 
Furthermore, Taiwan and the U.S. signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on forming a coast guard working group last March. This landmark advancement in bilateral relations will see the two sides cooperate on protecting maritime resources, combating IUU fishing and conducting joint search and rescue operations, Tsai said. At the first meeting staged via videoconference last August, participants discussed ways to strengthen joint capacity to better tackle challenges at sea.

A dialogue and reciprocal visit mechanism has likewise been established with Japan’s Ocean Policy Research Institute of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, recently resulting in an investigation of marine debris in waters near the Ryukyu Islands. Exchanges and cooperative efforts are also ongoing with Japan’s Ministry of the Environment and Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism regarding issues such as marine environments, disaster response and transnational crime. In Southeast Asia, the OAC’s connections with counterparts in Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam continue to deepen via MOUs and Taiwan’s membership in Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.
 
Way Forward
 
Another critical element of ocean governance involves the rapidly expanding renewable energy sector, also named one of Taiwan’s core strategic industries. The OAC has been working to facilitate exchanges of knowledge and expertise on offshore wind power development with leading countries like France, Germany, the Netherlands and the U.K. As the installation of offshore turbines has the potential to cause tensions with local fishing communities and trigger concerns about environmental impacts and flight safety, such projects require a great deal of coordination between users of sea areas, according to Chiau Wen-yan (邱文彥), an emeritus professor at Institute of Marine Affairs and Resource Management of National Taiwan Ocean University in the northern port city of Keelung and Kaohsiung-based National Sun Yat-sen University’s (NSYSU) Department of Marine Environment and Engineering.

Chiau currently teaches in NSYSU’s graduate program on the emerging science of marine spatial planning (MSP), an approach for allocating use of sea areas in a manner balancing cultural, developmental, ecological, economic and social needs. The scholar, who served as a legislator from 2012 to 2016, calls for fast-tracking a marine area administration act the OAC has been promoting alongside two other laws concerning maritime conservation and industrial growth in accordance with the OBA. Following the release of MSP guidelines by the U.N. and E.U. in 2009 and 2014 respectively, relevant lawmaking and planning efforts have taken off in more than 70 countries and territories, Chiau said.

As a longtime advocate of integrated management of ocean affairs, Chiau is encouraged to see significant progress made following the formation of the OAC and the Examination Yuan’s recent decision to recruit civil servants specialized in marine affairs. Going forward he recommends incorporating more organizations—such as the Fisheries Agency now operating under the Cabinet-level Council of Agriculture—into the centralized body. OAC’s Tsai also highlights the need to foster a robust marine mindset among policymakers and the public. “In caring for the ocean, humans are actually providing for our own lives on land,” he said. “We mustn’t take our seas for granted.”

Write to Pat Gao at cjkao@mofa.gov.tw