Marine and coastal areas

Authorities on Phu Quoc, a popular tourist island off the coast of southern Vietnam’s Kien Giang Province, have ordered the removal of illegal constructions in the island’s protected maritime areas following the report of Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper last week. On Tuesday, Phu Quoc leaders inspected the illegal works in ...

The Vietnamese government has launched a national campaign to promote its maritime policies as the ruling party pledges to explore “all available legal tools” to defend its interests amid China’s growing assertiveness in the South China Sea. A government order stipulates that by 2025, all domestic media outlets ...

A long-running territorial standoff over the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea has seen vessels dumping enough raw sewage to threaten the marine ecosystem there — and the degradation is extensive enough to be seen from space. On July 12, U.S.-based geospatial tech company Simularity ...

Popular beaches in southern Thailand, empty of tourists due to closures and restrictions related to the Covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, are seeing the return of rare wildlife, officials said on Sunday (April 19). “As we fight the Covid-19 outbreak, nature is also rejuvenating and creating balance,” Warawut ...

The Marine National Park in the southern province of Trang spotted 4 dugongs, 4 dolphins and 8 sea turtles offshore near Hat Chao Mai National Park. The MNP and Hat Chao Mai National Park conducted the observation by sea and air covering the areas abundant ...

Conservationists have begun reintroducing a critically endangered turtle species in its original habitat in the upper Chindwin River. The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) said it has begun the “soft release” of 40 rare Burmese roofed turtles near Linpha village in Hkamti township in Sagaing Region. Burmese roofed ...

A top marine biologist has urged Thailand’s government to speed up conservation plans for the dugong, an imperiled sea mammal, after their death toll for the year in Thai waters has already climbed to a record 21. Thon Thamrongnawasawat said on his Facebook page that the ...

Irrawaddy dolphins are curious creatures in more ways than one. They are curious by nature and look curious too. Instead of having long bottle-like nostrums like their relatives living in the seas, these freshwater mammals sport snub noses with bulging foreheads. They look a bit ...

Five Myanmar university students have been chosen to represent the country at a regional youth meeting on the environment, the Environmental Conservation Department said. The Environmental Forum of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus three (China, Japan, and South Korea) will be held on Thailand’s Phuket ...

The toughening of China’s policies in the South and East China Seas is widely regarded as a defining characteristic of Xi Jinping’s foreign policy. But while it is true that the PRC has become more assertive in its maritime disputes under Xi, China had already ...