China on Sunday launched the South China Sea Tsunami Advisory Centre and also a deep-sea test site to support fundamental deep-sea scientific research, technological innovation and the development of related industries.

The two launches coincided with the World Ocean Day that is celebrated on June 8 every year.

China, which claims most of the South China Sea, is locked in an intractable maritime dispute with the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan, which have counter claims over the area that is home for busy regional and international trade routes.

The Tsunami Centre, which is based in Sanya in south China’s Hainan province, started its operations aiming to provide marine disaster early warning services for regional countries, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The facility, which was established by China’s National Marine Environmental Forecasting Centre, and the Hainan provincial oceanic administration, seeks to develop a comprehensive multi-hazard early warning system for tsunamis, marine heatwaves, harmful algal blooms and other hazards, the report said.

It also aims to serve as a platform for international cooperation in marine forecasting and warning. The South China Sea region is prone to tsunamis and other marine hazards due to its complex tectonic setting, including active fault lines and frequent undersea earthquakes in nearby areas.