Despite the intense focus on China's rise, the United States has yet to confront the most challenging question posed by this power shift: Should it pursue a strategy of limited geopolitical accommo...

A U.S.-China Grand Bargain? The Hard Choice between Military Competition and Accommodation

The spatiotemporal conjunction is a fundamental aspect of the juridical reflection on the historicity of law. Despite the fact that it seems to represent an issue directly connected with the question of where legal history is heading today, it has still not been the object of a focused inquiry. Against this background, the book's proposal consists in rethinking key confluences related to this problem in order to provide coordinates for a collective understanding and dialogue.

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Spatial and Temporal Dimensions for Legal History. Research Experiences and Itineraries

The East Asian-Australasian Flyway supports the greatest diversity and populations of migratory birds globally, as well as the highest number of threatened migratory species of any flyway, including passerines (15 species). However it is also one of the most poorly understood migration systems, and little is known about the populations and ecology of the passerine migrants that breed, stop over and winter in the habitats along this flyway. We provide the first flyway-wide review of diversity, ecology, and conservation issues relating to 170 species of long-distance and over 80 short-distance migrants from 32 families. Recent studies of songbird migration movements and ecology is limited, and is skewed towards East Asia, particularly Mainland China, Taiwan, Russia, Japan and South Korea. Strong evidence of declines exists for some species, e.g. Yellow-breasted Bunting Emberiza aureola, but tends to be fragmentary, localised or anecdotal for many others. More species have small breeding ranges (< 250,000 km2) and/or are dependent on tropical forests as wintering habitat than those in any other Eurasian migratory system, and are thus more vulnerable to habitat loss and degradation throughout their ranges. Poorly regulated hunting for food and the pet trade, invasive species and collisions with man-made structures further threaten migratory songbirds at a number of stop-over or wintering sites, while climate change and habitat loss may be of increasing concern in the breeding ranges. A key conservation priority is to carry out intensive field surveys across the region while simultaneously tapping into citizen science datasets, to identify important stop-over and wintering sites, particularly for poorly-known or globally threatened species across South-East Asia and southern China for targeted conservation actions. Additionally, the advent of miniaturised tracking technology, molecular and isotopic techniques can provide novel insights into migration connectivity, paths and ecology for species in this migration system, complementing data from banding exercises and observation-based surveys, and could prove useful in informing conservation priorities. However, until most states along the East Asian-Australasian flyway ratify the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) and other cross-boundary treaties, the relative lack of cross-boundary cooperation, coordination and information sharing in the region will continue to present a stumbling block for effective conservation of migratory passerines.

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Migratory songbirds in the East Asian-Australasian flyway: a review from a conservation perspective

How do states' oil requirements influence U.S. national security? Although a great deal of attention has focused on “energy security,” scholars and policymakers lack satisfactory answers because little analysis links states' energy requirements with the probability of military conflict. Developing an analytic catalogue of the ways in which states' oil requirements could influence U.S. national security is the first step in closing this gap. Possible mechanisms include vulnerable access to oil that threatens a state's military capability; military policies designed to protect access to oil that threaten another state's military capability, which in turn create an access-driven security dilemma; and oil reserves that increase the value of territory, generating a conflict that draws in the United States via an alliance commitment. A distinctive feature of this framework is that some of these mechanisms identify threats to U.S. security that flow from another country's consumption of oil, not from U.S. consum...

How Oil Influences U.S. National Security

Ocean governance in a competitive world. The BRIC countries as emerging maritime powers—building new geopolitical scenarios

The East China Sea is one of the last unexplored high-potential resource areas located near large markets. But the development of oil and gas in much of the area has been prevented for decades by conflicting claims to boundaries and islets in the area by China, Taiwan, and Japan. Competition between China and Japan for gas resources in the East China Sea is intensifying and hampering improved relations. However, conflict is not inevitable. A compromise-joint development-is motivated by the realization that a positive China-Japan relationship is simply too important to be destroyed by these disputes. Although both agree in principle on joint development, the two sides have different interpretations of what joint development means or implies, and what area should be jointly developed. The article spells out three basic agreements in principle that are necessary before details of any solution can be negotiated. The alternative to a solution is continued mutual suspicion, unstable relations, unmanaged and undeveloped resources, and an increasing frequency and intensity of incidents, fueling nationalist sentiments and resultant political conflict. Key words: territorial disputes, China-Japan relations, East Asian security Introduction Disputes over small islands and ocean space are usually ancillary at most to more fundamental geopolitical dialectics. However, in certain situations of big-power rivalry and competition for scarce petroleum resources, such issues may become the tail that wags the dog of international relations. The intensifying competition between China and Japan for gas resources in the East China Sea could become just such a situation. The East China Sea is thought to contain up to 100 billion barrels of oil equivalent. It is one of the last unexplored highpotential resource areas located near large markets. The development of oil and gas in much of the area has been prevented for decades by conflicting and overlapping claims to boundaries in the area by China, Taiwan, and Japan. Indeed, the Japanese government has until now refused to let companies explore and develop the resources in the area because it feared that these acts would adversely affect its relations and negotiations with China on boundaries. But China has been drilling ever closer to the "median" line between undisputed territory of both countries that has been unilaterally declared as the boundary by Japan, and is now producing gas from the Chunxiao field situated just on its side of that line. Tokyo has officially protested the drilling because it fears China will siphon off gas from its side of the "boundary" and is now considering allowing Teikoku Oil Company to drill on Japan's side of it. Just the possibility of such drilling by Teikoku has been fiercely protested by Beijing, which claims most of the East China Sea continental shelf. Conflict is not inevitable. China's June 2004 proposal to jointly develop the hydrocarbon resources of the East China Sea is an opportunity to cap rising tension, and at long last harvest the resources in the disputed area. This article describes and analyses the context of the dispute and relevant recent developments as well as the conflicting claims and related issues, and then proposes a range of possible conflict-avoidance measures and ultimate solutions. The Strategic Setting The East China Sea is a strategic area for China, Japan, and the United States.1 In the north it guards the entrance to the Tsushima Strait which leads to the Sea of Japan. On its south sits Taiwan, a main bone of contention between China and the United States. Moreover, China sees Japan as part of a U.S. attempt to contain China and is particularly incensed with Japan's pledged logistical and intelligence support of the United States in the event of a clash with China over Taiwan. It also is concerned with Japan's growing nationalism and assertiveness and fears it may culminate in a revival of Japanese militarism. …

The East China Sea Dispute: Context, Claims, Issues, and Possible Solutions

The dispute over ownership of islands, maritime boundaries, jurisdiction, perhaps as much as 100 billion barrels of oil equivalent, and other nonliving and living marine resources in the East China Sea continues to bedevil China-Japan relations. Historical and cultural factors, such as the legacy of World War II and burgeoning nationalism, are significant factors in the dispute. Indeed, the dispute seems to have become a contest between national identities. The approach to the issue has been a political dance by the two countries: one step forward, two steps back. In this article I explain the East China Sea dispute, explore its effect on China-Japan relations, and suggest ways forward.

The East China Sea Disputes:History, Status, and Ways Forward

The Six Party Talks can be the crucible for forging a regional security mechanism in Northeast Asia. This mechanism should originally focus on maritime security. The rationale includes the region's geography, competing maritime and island claims, the resultant maritime military buildup and changing priorities, increasing frequency of dangerous incidents, and the existence of a foundation for conflict avoidance and resource sharing. The Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea could serve as a model for a similar Declaration for Northeast Asian Seas that may ultimately include guidelines for activities in others' Exclusive Economic Zones. Key words: Northeast Asia, multilateral security - East Asia, maritime security, territorial disputes Conceptual and Practical Context The Functional Approach to Conflict Resolution The first step toward the peaceful settlement of conflict is the creation of a sense of community.1 The creation of such a community presupposes at least the mitigation and minimization of conflict, so that shared interests and common needs outweigh the factors that separate the parties. A functional approach can help the growth of positive and constructive common work and of common habits and interests, decreasing the significance of artificial boundaries and barriers or the lack thereof by overlaying them with a web of common activities and administrative agencies. The challenge then for Northeast Asia is to develop a variety of arrangements that will demonstrate that a habit of dialogue and working together can build common-and eventually cooperative- security. Tactical learning-in which behavior toward cooperation changes-must be replaced by complex learning in which values and beliefs about reaching goals through cooperation change. In this context, cooperation in the maritime spheres satisfies the conceptual criteria and can be a means of building confidence, reducing tension, and eliminating points of conflict. It can also have positive spillover effects on relations between nations. With progress in the Six Party Talks (6PT) regarding the Korea conundrum, analysts and politicians alike are again thinking and talking about a new security architecture for Northeast Asia.2 At the 2006 ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Regional Forum meeting in Kuala Lumpur, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called for a "robust dialogue on Northeast Asian security" that could help overcome historical tensions, increase security, and create a "better basis for enhanced prosperity throughout the region."3 In February 2007, the parties to the 6PT agreed to negotiate a "peace regime" in "an appropriate separate forum."4 In January 2008, Rice expressed her belief that the Six Party Talks can be used for "larger purposes" such as "forging a regional security mechanism."5 New Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is an enthusiastic supporter of the concept- if it includes Australia.6 The general hope is that the process of managing transition on the Korean peninsula can create new patterns of cooperation and thus lay the foundation for a 21st century security architecture in the region. However, some-perhaps many-in ASEAN see the proposal as diluting the ASEAN Regional Forum's position as the only region-wide overarching security mechanism.7 Thus, starting "small and specific" in Northeast Asia might be more politically palatable to all concerned. In this context, some prominent analysts are urging Japan and the United States to build international institutions initially focused on "concrete issues such as resource sharing, environment and particular security issues," e.g., maritime conflict, that could gradually develop into larger institutions.8 Inspiring Examples from Maritime Agreements In building mutual security, there are several significant reasons to focus initially on the maritime sphere. Much of Northeast Asia is essentially maritime, encompassing peninsulas, archipelagos, disputed islands, strategic straits, and sea lanes. …

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A maritime security regime for northeast asia

This edited series of essays draws in part from discussions and papers presented at a Workshop on North Korea and Regional Security held April 15-16, 2008 in Seoul Other papers were solicited to fill substantive gaps in coverage The content begins with a brief overview of our discussions This is followed by an explanation of why America's North Korea nuclear policy failed and a suggested new approach Next is a sampling of perspectives on the Six Party Talks (6PT) by scholars in some of the countries involved The focus then turns to the critical questions regarding a multilateral security cooperation mechanism in Northeast Asia- its design, its institutional precedents and lessons learned, and a potential application in the maritime sphere The editor wishes to thank Mel Gurtov and Peter Van Ness for the invitation to edit this issue and their encouragement while undertaking this task, as well as the individual authors for their contributions The following is a brief summary of the contents Gregory Moore explains why America's North Korea nuclear policy has been a failure Instead of achieving its goal of preventing North Korea from possessing and proliferating nuclear weapons, it has had the opposite effect This failure was a result of the Bush administration's blanket rejection of the previous administration's approach to North Korea, the tendency to ignore the advice of "experts," neoconservative influence on foreign policy, and divisions within the administration resulting in an inconsistent approach Moore suggests a bold initiative in which the United States guarantees North Korea's security, proposes a peace agreement, and establishes full diplomatic recognition if North Korea guarantees not to attack South Korea, not to proliferate weapons of mass destruction or the means to produce them, and not develop more nuclear weapons According to Chu Shulong and Lin Xinzhu, China views the 6PT as a major part of its foreign policy and thus for China the success of the talks is paramount However, China believes the outcome is uncertain because North Korea will most likely want to keep its nuclear weapons to maintain its regime security China hopes that North Korea will follow the Chinese example of regime security through economic strength China supports a multilateral security arrangement for Northeast Asia Georgy Toloraya argues that Russia has had a consistent policy of promoting a nuclear-free Korean peninsula, opposing resolution of the nuclear issue through pressure or sanctions, supporting a multilateral process and solution, promoting adherence to the rules of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, and expanding mutually beneficial economic cooperation North Korea has been generally positive about Russia's suggestions However, the United States has not welcomed Russia's participation in the process and has only belatedly and reluctantly recognized its positive role Russia hopes the 6PT will gradually evolve into a multiparty security and cooperation system that will include a peaceful North Korea This would be facilitated by international economic assistance to the North and institutionalization of the 6PT Successful Russia-US cooperation here may have much wider positive implications Chung-in Moon provides special insight into the role of the South Korean government under Roh Moo Hyun in the 6PT It suggested innovative ideas by often defying the American position to break impasses, and it facilitated the overall process of negotiation through proactive diplomacy …

Mark J. Valencia

Papers

The East China Sea Dispute: Context, Claims, Issues, and Possible Solutions

The East China Sea Disputes:History, Status, and Ways Forward

A maritime security regime for northeast asia

Introduction to the Special Issue, North Korea and Regional Security