2021 Session 7: Submerged War Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region
Dublin Core
Title
2021 Session 7: Submerged War Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region
Subject
Session 7 papers
Description
Abstract
While evidence of conflict in the Asia-Pacific Region dates back thousands of years, World War II brought more people into contact with the seas of the Asia-Pacific region than ever before and left a correspondingly large archaeological signature. Today, the ship and plane wrecks, maritime infrastructure and underwater dumping sites from WWII present an archaeological resource of conflicting values ranging from artificial reefs and tourism assets, to war-graves and even ecological threats. Most recently, the different values placed on these sites has been thrown into sharp relief with the illegal salvage of a number of naval ships in South-East Asia and subsequent outcry from former colonial powers.
Maritime warfare throughout the Asia-Pacific Region has had a far-reaching impact on the people who lived, and continue to live in these areas that goes beyond the mere recording of battlefields and the machinery involved. Maritime archaeology has significant potential to provide insights into the lives and experiences of those who have been overlooked by traditional war histories including non-combatants and indigenous people.
The protection and management of World War II-related Underwater Cultural Heritage (WWII UCH) provides particular challenges in the contemporary Asia-Pacific Region. While the 2001 UNESCO Convention provides a code for internationally recognised best practice, most countries in the region are yet to become signatories. Many countries in Oceania in particular see the current interest in WWII UCH as overshadowing the need to protect and preserve indigenous UCH. A potentially useful framework that could be used to provide a balance in interests and benefits for more of the Asia-Pacific community is the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that provide a holistic and relevant path for incorporating all UCH into sustainable environmental and development policies and practices. This should lead to an appreciation of all that constitutes Asia-Pacific UCH and their particular challenges.
Session Organisers:
Matt Carter
Bill Jeffery
Hans Van Tilburg
While evidence of conflict in the Asia-Pacific Region dates back thousands of years, World War II brought more people into contact with the seas of the Asia-Pacific region than ever before and left a correspondingly large archaeological signature. Today, the ship and plane wrecks, maritime infrastructure and underwater dumping sites from WWII present an archaeological resource of conflicting values ranging from artificial reefs and tourism assets, to war-graves and even ecological threats. Most recently, the different values placed on these sites has been thrown into sharp relief with the illegal salvage of a number of naval ships in South-East Asia and subsequent outcry from former colonial powers.
Maritime warfare throughout the Asia-Pacific Region has had a far-reaching impact on the people who lived, and continue to live in these areas that goes beyond the mere recording of battlefields and the machinery involved. Maritime archaeology has significant potential to provide insights into the lives and experiences of those who have been overlooked by traditional war histories including non-combatants and indigenous people.
The protection and management of World War II-related Underwater Cultural Heritage (WWII UCH) provides particular challenges in the contemporary Asia-Pacific Region. While the 2001 UNESCO Convention provides a code for internationally recognised best practice, most countries in the region are yet to become signatories. Many countries in Oceania in particular see the current interest in WWII UCH as overshadowing the need to protect and preserve indigenous UCH. A potentially useful framework that could be used to provide a balance in interests and benefits for more of the Asia-Pacific community is the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that provide a holistic and relevant path for incorporating all UCH into sustainable environmental and development policies and practices. This should lead to an appreciation of all that constitutes Asia-Pacific UCH and their particular challenges.
Session Organisers:
Matt Carter
Bill Jeffery
Hans Van Tilburg
Creator
Asia Pacific Regional Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage
Publisher
The Museum of Underwater Archaeology
Date
November 2021
Language
English
Rights Holder
Asia Pacific Regional Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage
Collection Items
Modelling Methodologies for Site Management and Preservation Assessment: A Post-WW2 Landing Craft Utility (LCU) Case Study in the Republic of the Marshall Islands
Ships built in the modern era often have corresponding construction plans, available in various archival repositories. Using such plans, pre-survey site modeling in the CAD-based Rhinoceros software program offers researchers an opportunity to gain…
Vulnerability Assessment of USS Houston:
A World War II Historic Shipwreck from the Battle of Sunda Strait
Sea battles between the Allies and the Japanese Navy Fleet during World War II in Indonesian waters left many physical evidences in the form of shipwrecks. One of the most well-known naval battles in the history of World War II in Asia Pacific is the…
World War Two Shipwrecks; a toxic legacy?
During the Second World War over 3,800 ships were sunk throughout the Pacific Region. The legacy of this conflict is still being felt today, with an unconfirmed number of potentially polluting wrecks (PPWs) still containing oil and unexploded…
Airplanes and Microbes: Microbially-Influenced Corrosion of WWII Aluminum Aircraft Wrecks in the Pacific
Aircraft were a major component of the U.S. war effort in the Pacific Theatre of WWII, and today numerous examples can be found throughout the waters of the Asia-Pacific region. Due to their cultural and historical significance to modern…
Collection Tree
- Proceedings of the 2021 Asia Pacific Regional Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage
- 2021 Session 7: Submerged War Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region