Ministerial officials from 11 of east Asia's coastal countries signed an agreement to implement a Sustainable Development Strategy for the Seas of East Asia (SDS-SEA) on Friday.

Ministerial level officials from Cambodia, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, the Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, EastTimor, Vietnam and China signed the Haikou declaration, on a Chinese marine administration vessel in Haikou Bay outside the capital city of South China's Hainan Province.

The declaration included a three-year action plan on sustainable development covering 2007 to 2010.

The declaration said that the East Asian Seas had encountered many environmental problems which have increased in recent years.

All the countries that signed the declaration promised to mobilize their financial and legal resources to implement a 10-year long plan which is aimed at ensuring at least 20 percent of the participating countries' coasts is covered by comprehensive coastal management.

Dr. Cai Chengying, an official of the East Asia Seas Congress, said that the declaration would not only benefit the concerned countries' ability to protect their marine environment, but also help them reduce disputes and increase mutual political trust.

Source: Xinhua