1st Edition

Assessing Maritime Disputes in East Asia Political and Legal Perspectives

    Combining practical and theoretical approaches, this book addresses the political, legal and economic implications of maritime disputes in East Asia.

    The maritime disputes in East Asia have multiplied over the past few years, in parallel with the economic growth of the countries in the region, the rise of nationalist movements, fears and sometimes fantasies regarding the emergence of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as a global power, increasing military expenses, as well as speculations regarding the potential resources in various disputed islands. These disputes, however, are not new and some have been the subject of contention and the cause of friction for decades, if not centuries in a few cases. Offering a robust analysis, this volume explores disputes through the different lenses of political science, international law, history and geography, and introduces new approaches in particular to the four important disputes concerning Dokdo/Takeshima, Senkaku/Diaoyu, Paracels and Spratlys. Utilising a comparative approach, this book identifies transnational trends that occur in the different cases and, therefore, at the regional level, and aims to understand whether the resurgence of maritime disputes in East Asia may be studied on a case by case basis, or should be analysed as a regional phenomenon with common characteristics.

    This book will be of interest to students of Asian Politics, Maritime Security, International Security, Geopolitics and International Relations in general.

    1. Introduction: Old Problems and New Paradigms in East-Asian Maritime Disputes, Barthélémy Courmont, Frédéric Lassere and Eric Mottet

    2. Maritime Territorial Disputes in East Asia: A Comparative Analysis of the South China Sea and the East China Sea, Andy Yee

    3. Managing Maritime Disputes in East Asia: A Legal Perspective, Keyuan Zou

    4. Legal and Political Aspects of the Dokdo Issue: Interrelationship between International Law and International Relations, Lee Chang-wee

    5. ‘Takeshima’, ‘Northern Territories’ and the Construction of Japan’s National Identity, Alexander Bukh

    6. Crisscrossing law, politics and history: Dilemmas in the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands dispute, Katherine Tseng Hui-yi

    7. Diplomacy and Opportunism: Taiwan’s position on the Diaoyu/Senkaku Dispute, Barthélémy Courmont

    8. Maritime Borders in the South China Sea: Dynamics and Legal Basis, Frédéric Lassere

    9. Exploring Maritime Dispute Management in the South China Sea: A Practical Approach, Nong Hong

    10. Is Accessing Natural and Strategic Energy Resources the Real Core of Maritime Disputes in Asia?, Eric Mottet

    11. China’s Realpolitik Approach to its Territorial Disputes: The Case of the 2012 Scarborough Shoal Stand-Off, Renato Cruz De Castro

    12. Economic Drivers of Vietnam’s South China Sea Disputes with China, Le Hong Hiep

    Conclusion, Barthélémy Courmont, Frédéric Lasserre and Eric Mottet

    Biography

    Barthélémy Courmont is Professor of Contemporary History and International Relations at the Catholic University of Lille, France, and Senior Research-fellow at the Paris-based Institute of International and Strategic Relations (IRIS).

    Frédéric Lasserre is Professor of Geopolitics at Laval University, Canada, and Director of the Quebec Center of Geopolitics Studies (CQEG).

    Éric Mottet is Professor of Geopolitics at the Quebec University at Montreal (UQAM), Canada, and Assistant Director of the Quebec Center of Geopolitics Studies (CQEG).