China backs sanctuary idea

Lonely trip: A lone penguin walking along on the ice in the Antartic. – AFP

SYDNEY: Creation of a vast marine sanctuary in Antarctica’s “Last Ocean” inched closer at international talks as China for the first time backed the proposal, officials said, with Russia understood to be the last holdout.

Campaigners had hoped the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) would approve two huge sanctuaries at its annual meeting in Australia, including one in the Ross Sea.