Taiwan eyeing partnership with Manila on earthquake prevention: CWB

Taipei, April 18 (CNA) Taiwan is hoping to work with the Philippines in installing an 800-kilometer submarine cable between the two countries to better detect seismic movement near the Manila Trench, Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said Saturday.

The underwater cable would stretch from Fangshan Township in Pingtung County in southern Taiwan to central Luzon and would become the first earthquake and tsunami observation system shared by Taiwan and a foreign country, said CWB Director-General Yeh Tien-chiang (葉天降).

If the project goes ahead, the cable and six underwater observation stations would be installed between 2021 and 2024 at a cost of NT$2.6 billion (US$86.2 million).
The system is expected to improve the CWB's disaster mitigation capabilities by helping the bureau detect and warn of an earthquake earlier and locate its position, Yeh said.

​Read more: Focus Taiwan