China and Taiwan to hold oil spill contingency talks

China has set up massive oil fields near Taiwan, which Beijing considers part of its territory awaiting reunification.

Experts from the two sides will meet in August or September, the Environmental Protection Administration in Taipei said.

“We'll discuss a number of topics including the establishment of contacts for the responsible government officials who will be able to act immediately once an oil spill incident has happened,” Chen Shyan-heng, head of the administration's Water Quality Protection Bureau, told AFP.

The talks in Taipei, the third of their kind, could pave the way for exercises mobilising personnel and equipment from the two sides, he said. Ties between Taiwan and China have improved markedly since President Ma Ying-jeou came to power in 2008, pledging to boost trade links and allow in more Chinese tourists.

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