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China to Build Deep Sea Case Run by Robots

Chinese structures are seen in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea in April last year. © Reuters
Chinese structures are seen in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea in April last year. © Reuters
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China to Build Deep Sea Case Run by Robots

Chinese structures are seen in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea in April last year. © Reuters
Chinese structures are seen in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea in April last year. © Reuters

Artificial Intelligence System (AI) will be used to run the first Chinese deep sea base that no human can reach, the South China Morning Star newspaper reported.

According to reports, researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences plan to build a robotic base in the South China Sea. This base could become the first AI settlement in the world.

The base is located at 19685 to 36,100 feet (6 to 11 kilometers) below sea level and will be equipped with power supplies via cables from ships or floating platforms.

It will be designed from interconnecting units like those composing the International Space Station. Robotic submarines that explore the depths of the sea and collect data on marine life will embark from its deep ridges.

The base will also work in collecting and analyzing samples of raw minerals.

Scientists have so far been able to explore only 1% of seas and oceans whose waters cover 70% of the Earth's surface.

The Chinese research will provide data to analyze changes in the Earth climate, explore elements for new drugs and pharmaceuticals, and identify endangered marine organisms. According to scientists' estimates, the cost of the base will reach $160 million.

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South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary Plan Blocked at Int’l Meeting

A juvenile pygmy blue whale swims, following a rescue operation by members of the Department of Conservation New Zealand in Kawau Island, New Zealand, September 16, 2024. Department Of Conservation New Zealand/Handout via REUTERS
A juvenile pygmy blue whale swims, following a rescue operation by members of the Department of Conservation New Zealand in Kawau Island, New Zealand, September 16, 2024. Department Of Conservation New Zealand/Handout via REUTERS
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South Atlantic Whale Sanctuary Plan Blocked at Int’l Meeting

A juvenile pygmy blue whale swims, following a rescue operation by members of the Department of Conservation New Zealand in Kawau Island, New Zealand, September 16, 2024. Department Of Conservation New Zealand/Handout via REUTERS
A juvenile pygmy blue whale swims, following a rescue operation by members of the Department of Conservation New Zealand in Kawau Island, New Zealand, September 16, 2024. Department Of Conservation New Zealand/Handout via REUTERS

A proposal to establish a sanctuary for whales and other cetacean species in the southern Atlantic Ocean was rejected at a meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) on Thursday, disappointing animal conservationists, Reuters reported.
At the IWC's annual session in Lima, Peru, 40 countries backed a plan to create a safe haven that would ban commercial whale hunting from West Africa to the coasts of Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil, extending a protected area already in place in the Southern Ocean.
However, 14 countries opposed the plan, meaning it narrowly failed to get the 75% of votes required.
Among the opponents were Norway, one of the three countries that still engage in commercial whaling, along with Iceland and Japan. Iceland abstained, while Japan left the IWC in 2019.
Petter Meier, head of the Norwegian delegation, told the meeting that the proposal "represents all that is wrong" about the IWC, adding that a sanctuary was "completely unnecessary".
Norway, Japan and Iceland made 825 whale catches worldwide last year, according to data submitted to the IWC.
Whaling fleets "foreign to the region" have engaged in "severe exploitation" of most species of large whales in the South Atlantic, and a sanctuary would help maintain current populations, the proposal said.
The South Atlantic is home to 53 species of whales and other cetaceans, such as dolphins, with many facing extinction risks, said the proposal. It also included a plan to protect cetaceans from accidental "bycatch" by fishing fleets.
"It's a bitter disappointment that the proposal ... has yet again been narrowly defeated by nations with a vested interest in killing whales for profit," said Grettel Delgadillo, Latin America deputy director at Humane Society International, an animal conservation group.
An effort by Antigua and Barbuda to declare whaling a source of "food security" did not gain support, and the IWC instead backed a proposal to maintain a global moratorium on commercial whaling in place since 1986.
"Considering the persistent attempts by pro-whaling nations to dismantle the 40-year-old ban, the message behind this proposal is much needed," said Delgadillo.