Cross-Strait Cooperation for the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage in the Taiwan Strait: A Legal Perspective

บทคัดย่อ

The Taiwan Strait, which runs between China and Chinese Taiwan, has been used as a seaborne trade route since ancient times. It is estimated that numerous archeological and historical objects regarded as underwater cultural heritage (UCH) remain in this area. Nevertheless, recently, joint conduction of investigation, exploration, protection, and excavation by competent authorities of China and Chinese Taiwan has not been possible due to political confrontation between the two sides. On the other hand, illegal excavation or exploration by treasure hunters and other private parties may occur easily.

To effectively protect UCH in this area, cooperation between the two sides is both essential and necessary. Nevertheless, achieving such cooperation between China and Chinese Taiwan will be difficult if their current laws remain inconsistent. The author found that there were at least five significant differences between the two sides’ laws which should be harmonized. In addition, enhancing cooperation in terms of UCH protection in this area must involve the application of various approaches such as exchanging information, establishing organization, setting up a dispute settlement mechanism, and creating cooperation in law enforcement.