Australian Environment Minister Peter Garrett said on Monday he had placed a provisional declaration over the two sunk ships under the 1976 Historic Shipwrecks Act to ensure they are not damaged or disturbed.
"Under the declaration, unauthorized intrusion into the sites of these final resting places is prohibited," he said in a statement.
"This action will ensure respect for the war dead of both our nations," the statement added.
Her Majesty's Australian Ship Sydney, with all its 645 crewmen, and the German Raider Kormoran, which lost 80 of its 397 crew, both sank following a battle off the WA coast in November 1941.
A search launched by the Finding Sydney Foundation located the wreck of Kormoran last week and Sydney during the weekend.
Source: Xinhua
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