The mainland's marine authorities have deployed two tsunami-warning buoys in the South China Sea and have offered to share them with other regional countries.
Each buoy, costing more than 10 million yuan (HK$12 million), features cutting-edge sensing technology, support from Chinese satellites and the capability to sound an alert as early as 10 minutes before a major tsunami hits any shore, a researcher involved in the project said.
Eight countries have received China's offer: the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Singapore.
They have been offered complete access to data collected by the buoys, in real-time and for free, but in exchange they will need to join a regional tsunami warning system in which every member state must reveal certain oceanographic data, such as surface temperatures and wind speeds.
Marine scientists in Asia said that the floating buoys were a clever way to sidestep political disputes in the region for the advancement of scientific observation and the mitigation of natural disasters.
China's proposal was made at the 24th session of the International Co-ordination Group for the Pacific Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System held in Beijing on Tuesday, China News Service reported.