Asian Countries and the Arctic Future

Over the last few years Asian governments have taken a stronger approach to the Arctic, culminating with permanent-observer status to the Arctic Council for China, India, Japan, Singapore and South-Korea in May 2013. This groundbreaking book brings together the latest research in emerging Asian interests for the Arctic region, and the implications thereof this change has for the future.

This book covers Arctic shipping, fisheries and mineral extraction. It analyzes key Asian countries' policies, positions and activities. The book also demonstrates that there are common aspects which attract Asian countries to the Arctic, such as a concern for climate change, but there are also important national differences. From the Arctic Council to UNCLOS, Arctic governance mechanisms are thoroughly presented and analyzed.

Contributed by scholars from both Asia — China, India, Japan, Singapore and South-Korea — as well as Arctic countries — Norway and USA, this book is an essential source of reference for both academics and government professionals, as well for the readers keen on understanding the dynamic change in the Arctic region.

Contents:

• Governance and Cooperation:

  • Adaptive Governance for a Changing Arctic (Oran R Young)
  • The Arctic Governance and the Interactions between Arctic and Non-Arctic Countries (YANG Jian)
  • Can Asian Involvement Strengthen Arctic Governance? (Olav Schram Stokke)
  • High North: High Politics or Low Tension? Cooperation and Conflict in the Arctic (Jo Inge Bekkevold)
  • Analysis of International Arctic Cooperation Mechanisms among the Nordic Countries (CHENG Baozhi)

• Economic Development:

  • International Use of the Northern Sea Route — Trends and Prospects (Arild Moe)
  • A Comparative Study of the Administration of the Canadian Northwest Passage and the Russian Northern Sea Route (ZOU Leilei and HUANG Shuolin)
  • Governance and Ownership of the Arctic Ocean: Living Resources and the Continental Shelf (Njord Wegge)
  • Arctic Mining: Asian Interests and Opportunities (Iselin Stensdal)

• Asia in the Arctic:

  • Japan's Arctic Policy Development: From Engagement to a Strategy (Fujio Ohnishi)
  • India's Arctic Attention (Uttam Sinha)
  • Asian Economic Interests in the Arctic — Singapore's Perspective (CHEN Gang)
  • Changes in the Arctic and China's Participation in Arctic Governance (ZHANG Pei and YANG Jian)
  • The Cooperation and Competition between China, Japan, and South Korea in the Arctic (GONG Keyu)
  • Findings and Challenges of the North Pacific Arctic Conference (Jong-Deog Kim)
  • The Future of the Arctic and the Asian Countries: Concluding Remarks (Iselin Stensdal)

Readership: Academics, undergraduate and graduate students, professionals, and policy makers interested in major Asian countries' Arctic interests, Arctic governance, economic development in the Arctic regions, Northern Sea Route and Northwestern Passage.
Key Features:

• Addresses a topic which has been previously little covered, but is of growing global interest
• Represents one of the first efforts to bring all relevant Asian countries together to discuss Arctic issues
• Contributed by Scholars from Asia and Arctic Countries