Japan's massive earthquake and ensuing tsunami that slammed into the country's northeast coast has triggered alarm bells in China as the country develops its marine economy.

In April last year, three regional ocean economic zones in Shandong, Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces were approved by the State Council, or the cabinet, as pilot zones for the development of China's marine economy.

Ocean economic zones should be equipped with early warning and emergency response systems, said Song Junli, a government official in charge of the construction work of the Shandong Peninsula Ocean Economic Zone.

"It is imperative to enhance the capacity of disaster warning and responding both locally and nationwide to ensure the safety of people and their properties," said Song, also deputy director with Shandong Development and Reform Commission.

China has abundant marine resources, with its 3 million square kilometers of offshore waters and 32,000 kilometers of coastline.

Tsunamis are not as common as in other countries like Japan, but ocean-related disasters are frequent in China, hence the need for robust early warning and emergency response systems, Song said.

About 1,500 tonnes of oil spilled into China's northeast coastal waters after an explosion hit pipelines near Dalian Port in Liaoning Province in July last year.

Earlier in 2008, the outbreak of a strain of algae called enteromorpha prolifera in waters off east China's Qingdao disrupted the Olympics sailing competition, harmed the ecosystem and caused losses to sea cultivation and tourism.

However, it is still not clear why the algae blooms occur and how they spread, which has highlighted the necessity for further study so as to prevent the problem, said Li Naisheng, director of Qingdao National Ocean Science Research Center.

He Zhiguo, an associate professor at the Zhejiang University, said the risks of oceanic disasters should be fully estimated and evaluated while developing the marine economy, and establishment of an early warning system should be given priority.

Further, China should cultivate more oceanic scientists and experts to carry out research and studies on the ocean disasters, He said.

Also, the government should raise people's awareness of ocean-related problems, he added.

"The responsibility of battling ocean disasters lies on everyone rather than the government only," He said.

He's advice echoed comments from the country's top officials of oceanic management.

Liu Cigui, director of the State Oceanic Administration (SOA), told Xinhua in a recent interview that China had drawn lessons from Japan's response to the latest earthquake and tsunami.

Liu said SOA issued an emergency response soon after Japan's earthquake and tsunami and had kept a close eye on the situation.

"Governments at all levels in the coastal regions must pay full attention to the oceanic disasters and include prevention measures in the infrastructure construction," Liu said.

"Further, a coordinated mechanism that involves various departments in dealing with oceanic disasters should be established," Liu added.

According to figures released by the SOA, China increased its marine monitoring stations to 106 by the end of 2010 from 66 in 2005. Radar detecting stations increased to 38 from one during the same period.

Also, China has introduced more advanced technologies and measures such as submerged buoys and floating buoys for tsunami to forecast any potential oceanic disasters.

"A multi-level oceanic disaster forecast and alleviation system has been put in place in China," deputy director of SOA Wang Hong told a working seminar in Nanning, capital of southern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Wednesday.