Local actors and international regionalism: The case of the Sea of Japan zone

The Sea of Japan Zone (SJZ) is an area that has been shaped essentially by transnational relations between the localities of western Japan, northeastern China and the Russian Far East. The emergence of this new type of space, based on interlocal cooperation, is a significant aspect of what could be called the ‘new’ regionalism, i.e. the polymorphous and multicen‐tred movement that is affecting international relations today as opposed to its more rigid version of the late 1950s. The shape of the new regionalism reflects the transformation of international relations in general: this particular regionalization process, that gave shape to the SJZ, is linked to the transnationalization of local actors. The idea of creating the SJZ, in the late 1960s, was first an external answer (interlocal cooperation) to an internal problem (uneven development in Japan). It became a reality some twenty years later as Russian and Chinese localism eventually converged with Japanese localism. Despite important domestic differences the need for local actors around the Sea of Japan to look outside for better development conditions made the synergy possible. It produced a new regional entity that needs to be defined and, for that purpose, that could be compared to other transnational zones in East Asia or even in Europe. Their common characteristic appears to be a functional approach to regional cooperation.     

Chinese—Indian relations and the process of building confidence: Implications for the Asia‐Pacific

China's traditional approach to security questions appears to be antithetical to the cooperative security approach that has been adopted by ASEAN and by embryonic multilateral organizations such as the ASEAN Regional Forum. Yet, in the course of normalizing relations with India, China has shown itself willing to explore the kind of confidence‐ and security‐building measures associated with this approach. Although it was a change in interests that prompted China to explore the worth of such measures, nevertheless cooperative security ideas have proved helpful in defusing tensions between New Delhi and Beijing. Possibly as a result of its experience with India, there are indications that China has become more receptive to the use of a cooperative security framework elsewhere in the Asia‐Pacific, most notably in dealing with the ASEAN Regional Forum. Its involvement in this process has increased the diplomatic and economic costs that would be incurred should it decide to use force to make good its irredentist claims in the South China Sea.     

A new dynamism in Sino-Japanese security relations: Japan's strategic use of foreign aid

Abstract

In November 2004 a Chinese nuclear submarine cruised into Japan's territorial waters near the Okinawa Islands. In response, the Japanese government dispatched several Japanese naval ships and planes to chase the Chinese submarine until it navigated into international waters. This event, which potentially could have become the first exchange of fire between Japan and China since the Second World War, illuminated increasingly problematic security relations between the two neighbouring countries in the twenty-first century. In fact, deterioration of Sino-Japanese security relations is not a recent phenomenon but has already been evident since the mid-1990s, when Japan imposed a series of economic sanctions on China. Between 1995 and 2000 Japan had suspended its foreign aid to China in protest against: China's nuclear weapons tests; China's large scale war game including the launch of missiles across the Taiwan Strait; and Chinese naval activities in disputed areas in the East China Sea. This article looks at Sino-Japanese security relations since the mid-1990s through three case studies of the aid sanctions imposed by Japan on China. It clarifies the domestic political and bureaucratic interests that motivated aid sanctions and determined the decision-making process leading to these sanctions. The article argues, that with certain politico-security interests, Japanese governments actively used foreign aid as a strategic instrument to counter provocative military actions by China in the East Asian region since the mid-1990s. Despite the limited influence that Japanese aid sanctions have actually had on Chinese military behaviour, Japan's strategic use of foreign aid has undeniably created a new dynamism in security relations between the two neighbouring great powers in Asia.     

马来西亚官方对南海争端的立场分析

自2011年南海问题升温以来,作为东盟成员国中对南沙群岛部分岛礁及水域提出主权申索的国家之一,马来西亚官方对南海争端的立场十分值得关注。本文以马来西亚政府喉舌报《先锋报》为主的媒体网站2011年至2013年的与南海问题相关的新闻报道或评论为分析依据,进行跟踪评论,解读马来西亚官方对南海争端的立场。     

中国南海疆域研究的问题与前瞻

本文对中国南海疆域研究中的“9条断续线”法律地位问题、海洋法公约执行问题作了初步的探讨,并对有关“行为准则”、“共同开发”等问题作了论述。     

国际海洋法法庭释放渔船的司法实践及其对我国的启示

联合国海洋法法庭自成立以来审理的案件中有很大部分都涉及渔船立即释放的纠纷,本文在具体考量法庭审理的有关这方面的案件后,认为法庭的司法实践体现了“从速审判”的特点,加剧了国际法主体多元化的进程,并在此基础上对我国的相关国内法提出了修改的建议。     

去霸权化:海洋命运共同体叙事下新型海权的时代趋势

海洋命运共同体是中国倡导的一种海洋叙事。海洋叙事是塑造海洋秩序与海权及捍卫海洋权益的话语体系。中国的海洋叙事一直较为式微,特别是中国海权在世界海洋叙事体系内常常处于被西方海权"代表"的状态。这严重影响着中国对历史性海洋权益的维护。海洋命运共同体作为人类命运共同体的有机组成部分及其在海洋领域的发展,叙述着一种去霸权化的新型海权与新型海洋秩序,是海权从垄断走向共享、从传统走向新型的分水岭。在海洋命运共同体叙事下,中国海权的发展趋向是有别于传统海权的新型海权,是一种去霸权化的治海权,而非零和式海洋霸权。由于传统海权的惯性以及美国海洋霸权的主导,新型海权及其观念若要形成普适性共识,尚面临诸多挑战,但去霸权化的新型海权必将成为未来海权的时代趋势。     

渤海垦区精神及其当代价值

渤海垦区是抗日战争时期山东战略区政治、军事、经济、文化的稳固后方,被誉为山东的＂小延安＂。在垦区的建设和发展中,勤劳勇敢的垦区人民在中国共产党的领导下,艰苦奋斗,扎实创业,把一片荒芜之地建设成富饶的＂粮仓＂,为抗日战争和解放战争的胜利作出了不可磨灭的贡献,形成了以＂坚韧、开拓、爱民、奉献＂为主要内容的渤海垦区精神。在黄河三角洲高效生态经济区上升为国家战略的大背景下,渤海垦区精神对黄河三角洲新一轮的发展建设具有重大而深远的影响。     

南中国海争端中的印度

南中国海本是中国的领土,但由于其重要的经济及战略价值,使其成为一些国家觊觎并纷纷插手的对象。近年来,印度积极介入南中国海事务,与东盟、美、日在该地区的政治、军事往来密切,这无疑增加了南中国海争端问题的复杂性,对我国恢复南中国海主权带来新的困难和更大的压力。     

东盟国家处理海域争端的方式及其对解决南海主权争端的启示

东盟国家在解决南海以外的海域争端时,基本上采用以下三种方式:对争议海域进行共同开发;通过提交国际法院裁决;武力对抗加政治谈判。从实践来看,不同方式取得了不同的效果。近年来,东盟部分成员国采用不同方式不断侵占中国的南海海域,使南海问题呈现越来越复杂的态势。中国在南海主权争端中,面临来自东盟国家的巨大挑战,如何解决南海海域争端已成为中国与部分东盟国家面临的最棘手问题。东盟国家解决海域争端的方式,对于解决南海主权争端提供了一定的启示。