Meeting on ASEAN Underwater Archaeology Association

BANGKOK, June 28 (TNA) – Thailand hosted a meeting to discuss a project to set up an ASEAN underwater archaeology association with Southeast Asian nations. Anant Chuchote, director-general of the Fine Arts Department, opened the meeting on the Underwater Cultural Heritage Protection and the Possibility and Feasibility Study for the Creation of An ASEAN Underwater Archaeology Association. Representatives of ASEAN member states and East Timor attended the meeting at the National Gallery in Bangkok. Mr Anant said international cooperation was essential for the protection of underwater cultural heritage as it was facing many risks including harms from irresponsible behaviors and crimes. Many underwater archaeological sites in Southeast Asia were thus damaged and the evidence of ancient trade and cultural exchange through maritime routes within and beyond Southeast Asia were lost, he said. Today’s meeting was a forum for the exchange of knowledge and experiences related to underwater archaeology in the region and gathered information would lead to solutions and the possibility of establishing an ASEAN underwater archaeology association to protect underwater cultural heritage sites in the region, Mr Anant said. Participants in the meeting also reported situations and developments in their underwater archaeological operations and the protection of their underwater cultural heritage. (TNA)