China to build marine park in East Sea

China is about to build a marine park on Hainan Island in the South China Sea to attract tourists.

Satellite images show many Chinese ships dredging sand at Vanh Khan Reef in Vietnam's Truong Sa archipelago in 2015. Photo: AFP

Hainan, China's southernmost province, is one of the coastal areas selected to build marine parks, along with Liaoning, Shandong, Fujian and Guangdong provinces.

Once these projects are completed, the number of marine parks in China will increase to 42, NDTV said.

The State Oceanic Administration (SOA) has asked local authorities to begin the process of dividing the parks, and not to arbitrarily adjust or change the boundaries of these areas, Chinese media reported on October 3.

Marine parks are becoming popular tourist attractions in China thanks to the presence of many exotic animals from around the world, from polar bears to giant sharks and rare beluga whales.

The South China Sea is where the “cow tongue line” that Beijing has drawn to assert its illegal sovereignty over the East Sea begins. In July, the International Court of Arbitration in the Netherlands issued a ruling rejecting China’s claim, despite Beijing’s declaration that it does not accept or comply with it.

According to VNE