Dear SSJ Forum members,

NBR has just released a new Q&A with maritime security expert James Manicom that examines rising tensions between China and Japan over competing claims in the East China Sea. A link to the Q&A and a summary are below.

"Disputed Claims in the East China Sea: Policy Implications for China and Japan "

Q&A with James Manicom, Balsillie School of International Affairs

Link: http://m.nbr.org/pmGW6b

SUMMARY

The East China Sea is believed to contain significant quantities of hydrocarbon resources, which could benefit both China and Japan in their quests to diversify their energy supplies. Yet extraction of these resources has been stalled by overlapping jurisdictional and exclusive economic zone claims.

Beijing and Tokyo reached a principled consensus in
2008 on joint development of an area that includes the potentially gas-rich Chunxiao/Shirakaba field.
Subsequent events, however, including the ramming of Japanese Coast Guard cutters by a Chinese fishing boat in 2010 and the arrest of the Chinese captain by the Japanese, have halted all movement toward formalizing this consensus.

In an interview with NBR, maritime security expert James Manicom (Balsillie School of International
Affairs) provides insights into the current status of the dispute and the implications for policy moving forward.

Read the full interview to learn the answers to these
questions:

- What is the basis for each country's claim in the East China Sea?

- How significant are the hydrocarbon reserves in the East China Sea to China's and Japan's energy security?

- What long-term impact did the September 2010 collision have on policy in the region?

Read the full Q&A: http://m.nbr.org/pmGW6b

Tracy Timmons-Gray
The National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR) Seattle, WA