The area is more than twice the size of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and, once declared, would be the second largest protected area in Australia’s waters behind the 989,000 sq km Coral Sea marine park.
Christmas Island, which emerged 60m years ago from a volcanic seamount, is about 350km south of Indonesia and 1,500km west of Australia. The island is known for its migration of millions of red crabs that move from the forests to the shore and were made famous by Sir David Attenborough.
The Cocos (Keeling) Islands, about 970km west of Christmas Island, are two coral atolls surrounded by deep ocean.