East Asia Arctic Relations

Canada, Russia and the United States have expressed a renewed interest in the region, and East Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea and China are now increasingly fixated on prospects offered by the Arctic; however, Arctic and East Asian nations have not yet engaged in extensive discussions about competing and complementary activities and responsibilities in the Far North. This volume is an outcome of an international collaborative project that launched a focused and detailed conversation about the historic, contemporary and future dimensions of East Asian countries’ relationships and interests in the Arctic. Bringing together leading experts from Japan, China, South Korea, Russia, the United States and Canada, it draws policy-making and scholarly attention to East Asia’s growing interests in the Far North, and identifies political, economic, legal and security connections between the two regions.

"This series of six papers provides intensive analysis and discussion of historic, contemporary and future developments in East Asia-Arctic relations, from a group of leading experts from Japan, China, South Korea, the United States and Canada, working in the fields of Arctic sovereignty and international relations." --

This book examines the growing interest by Asian states, which are normally considered as ‘outsiders’ in the Arctic governance system. Whilst existing research asserts that Asian states are mostly interested in the economic aspect of the changing Arctic, including its mineral and fossil sources and the opening up of new sea routes, the book argues that the relation between Asian states and the Arctic is much more complex and dynamic, grounded in their unique perspective on national security and the role of economic development in securing their national interests.

"This series of six papers provides intensive analysis and discussion of historic, contemporary and future developments in East Asia-Arctic relations, from a group of leading experts from Japan, China, South Korea, the United States and Canada, working in the fields of Arctic sovereignty and international relations." --

"This series of six papers provides intensive analysis and discussion of historic, contemporary and future developments in East Asia-Arctic relations, from a group of leading experts from Japan, China, South Korea, the United States and Canada, working in the fields of Arctic sovereignty and international relations." --

This book focuses on the participation and interaction of the three great powers—i.e., China, Russia, and the United States—in Arctic affairs from an international relations perspective. Global climate change has become a shared problem for all mankind. One of its key elements is the warming of the Arctic, which is affecting every dimension of nature and humanity globally. Climate change in the Arctic will directly affect natural ecosystems, coastal areas, forests, water resources, agricultural production, animal husbandry, tourism, and other economic activities in various countries around the globe. For the Northeast Asian region, however, the opening of the Arctic Passage by melting sea ice presents an opportunity. The current international legal regime for governance in the Arctic is insufficient to cope with the challenges of global warming. This book will be of interest to scholars following the future development of the Arctic and the role of China as a newcomer to Arctic affairs.

Japanese scholars have also expressed concerns only the five coastal states and are beyond the purview that the application of international maritime law in the of the Arctic Council. [...] In the earliest official Chinese statement the International Arctic Science Committee, the on the Arctic, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs International Association of Classification Societies, the Hu Zhengyue stated that "Arctic countries should Conference of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region, protect the balance between the interests of states with the Barents Euro-Arctic Council, the U [...] In the determination by the Council of the general suitability of an applicant for observer status the Council will, inter alia, take into account the extent to which observers: • Accept and support the objectives of the Arctic Council defined in the Ottawa declaration. [...] The admission of new observer states raises the question Policy rEcommEndations of how to build trust between the new observers and While the bids of East Asian states challenge traditional the PPs, as East Asian states have only paid lip service conceptions of the role of the Arctic Council, there is little to the role of the PPs as stewards of the Arctic region doubt that the Arctic is constantl [...] Nevertheless, Arctic states must remain the notion of indigenous autonomy in international cognizant of areas of possible discord, particularly in the affairs, which the role of the PPs in the Arctic Council areas of high seas fisheries management and shipping effectively embodies.