Energy and Security in the East China Sea
1
조회
0
다운로드
0
인용
0
참고문헌
초록
The conflict-ridden East China Sea has been attracting attention recently. The two major actors, China and Japan, have conducted nine rounds of negotiations and the priority on the agenda is placed on the legal delimitation and joint development of oil and gas fields. Concrete progress is being made with an accident-preventive initiative to enhance the liaison mechanism between China and Japan. The other is likely a joint report on a joint development plan to be issued by fall 2007. However, security implications and problems exist, with some characteristics. The first one is the security structure in East Asia, which is closely related to the ongoing Cold War climate, which hinders China to engage in regional security activities. China, therefore, is confronting traditional threats as well as non-traditional threats. The second one is domestic politics, which has a strong influence on a country’s maritime security policy. It reflects reality clearly in Japan. The third one is the issue of Sea Lines of Communication (SLOCs), which is closely related to security issues. The last one is the lack of an adequate management regime in this region. China, Korea and Japan can cooperate in the field to contribute to maintaining maritime stability. The author’s argument is that although there are some positive signals between Japan and China trying to alleviate tensions, one cannot see very clearly that both sides would make great concessions from their persistent stands, but a naval clash between China and Japan in the East China Sea may not happen in the near future.
Abstract
The conflict-ridden East China Sea has been attracting attention recently. The two major actors, China and Japan, have conducted nine rounds of negotiations and the priority on the agenda is placed on the legal delimitation and joint development of oil and gas fields. Concrete progress is being made with an accident-preventive initiative to enhance the liaison mechanism between China and Japan. The other is likely a joint report on a joint development plan to be issued by fall 2007. However, security implications and problems exist, with some characteristics. The first one is the security structure in East Asia, which is closely related to the ongoing Cold War climate, which hinders China to engage in regional security activities. China, therefore, is confronting traditional threats as well as non-traditional threats. The second one is domestic politics, which has a strong influence on a country’s maritime security policy. It reflects reality clearly in Japan. The third one is the issue of Sea Lines of Communication (SLOCs), which is closely related to security issues. The last one is the lack of an adequate management regime in this region. China, Korea and Japan can cooperate in the field to contribute to maintaining maritime stability. The author’s argument is that although there are some positive signals between Japan and China trying to alleviate tensions, one cannot see very clearly that both sides would make great concessions from their persistent stands, but a naval clash between China and Japan in the East China Sea may not happen in the near future.