Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/08/16
By: Wang Shu-fen, Elaine Hou and Kuo Chung-han
Taipei, Aug. 16 (CNA) Taiwan is building a lighthouse on Taiping Island (also known as
CNA file photo
Itu Aba) which will be completed by the end of September, the Maritime and Port Bureau said on Aug. 7.
Reaching 13.7m above sea level, the lighthouse will have a range of 10 nautical miles. It will also be automated and regularly maintained, the bureau added.
With an area of 0.49 square kilometers, Taiping Island is the largest of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, which have been at the center of heated territorial disputes involving Taiwan, China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei in recent years.
Building the lighthouse could improve navigational safety, protect the natural environment and serve international community for the Republic of China, the bureau said. [FULL STORY]
