Preface
China, Japan, and Law of the Sea
The law of the sea has been one of the most important branches of international law
and applicable to both China and Japan as the two countries are parties to the 1982
UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which is regarded as the
constitution for the oceans. It is undeniable, however, that the sea itself has not only
produced the wealth to the surrounding countries, but it has also provoked a wide
range of legal issues arising from, for example, navigation, passage, fisheries,
natural resources, common interests, maritime boundaries, jurisdiction, marine
environment, among others. In other words, the law of the sea inevitably covers a
huge amount of legal issues and it is here where the international lawyers are
required to cooperate to analyse such a wide area of international law. Historically
speaking, Japan has long been a maritime nation, surrounded by the sea, and this
geographical typicality urged it to plunge into the study and research on the law
of the sea. This fact explains the reason why many of the disputes, in which Japan
was a party, related to the sea. On the other hand, China has long been a continental
country, mainly surrounded by the land. Considering the long coast of China,
however, this characterisation seems stereotype and old-fashioned. It is necessary to
elucidate China’s new tendency to expand its maritime claims, jurisdiction, and
interests towards the sea, which also provoke a lot of issues and disputes with
neighbouring countries. Against this background, international lawyers from both
countries have conducted an academic collaboration for examining and analysing
some of the issues mentioned above.
v
China, Japan, and Law of the Sea
The law of the sea has been one of the most important branches of international law
and applicable to both China and Japan as the two countries are parties to the 1982
UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which is regarded as the
constitution for the oceans. It is undeniable, however, that the sea itself has not only
produced the wealth to the surrounding countries, but it has also provoked a wide
range of legal issues arising from, for example, navigation, passage, fisheries,
natural resources, common interests, maritime boundaries, jurisdiction, marine
environment, among others. In other words, the law of the sea inevitably covers a
huge amount of legal issues and it is here where the international lawyers are
required to cooperate to analyse such a wide area of international law. Historically
speaking, Japan has long been a maritime nation, surrounded by the sea, and this
geographical typicality urged it to plunge into the study and research on the law
of the sea. This fact explains the reason why many of the disputes, in which Japan
was a party, related to the sea. On the other hand, China has long been a continental
country, mainly surrounded by the land. Considering the long coast of China,
however, this characterisation seems stereotype and old-fashioned. It is necessary to
elucidate China’s new tendency to expand its maritime claims, jurisdiction, and
interests towards the sea, which also provoke a lot of issues and disputes with
neighbouring countries. Against this background, international lawyers from both
countries have conducted an academic collaboration for examining and analysing
some of the issues mentioned above.
v