Sino-Russian Transboundary Waters: A Legal Perspective on Cooperation (original) (raw)
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Journal of Water Law , 2013
Water security is rapidly becoming one of the most pressing global issues and it is increasingly evident that the world's capacity to respond meaningfully to water security risks is in serious doubt. The growing tension over access to water resources manifests itself at all levels - local, national and international - with the potential for water-related conflicts most apparent in transboundary (or shared) water systems (rivers, basins or aquifers), which cross administrative or international borders. Management and utilisation of transboundary water resources is a multi-dimensional phenomenon where economic and environmental factors are intertwined with geopolitical and legal concerns. At the heart of this tangle is the problem of how to resolve the inherent contradiction between the physical integrity of an international watercourse (basin) and the sovereign right to use its waters by each state sharing it. The evident reduction in the amount and decline of the quality of freshwater resources intensifies competition between various uses and users across borders, which creates the potential to turn it into open rivalry. Interstate tensions and disputes over water resources are becoming increasingly common in different geographical regions, such as the Middle East, Northern Africa and Southeast Asia, and are now considered as a new emerging threat to regional and even global security. Water controversies usually arise either from water shortage, where existing and projected needs cannot be satisfied by available resources, or from transboundary impacts, first and foremost pollution. In order to prevent such conflicts it is important to strike a balance between the competing interests of different states sharing an international watercourse, while also taking into account the requirements of ecosystems. This objective can be achieved only through interstate cooperation, with appropriate legal and institutional frameworks being its central piece. It is within this context that the article explores an important issue for Northeast Asia: how China and Russia `cooperate' in the management of their shared water resources.
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This chapter explores the security dynamics in the South China Sea, focusing on how the actions of the Philippines and China contribute to an escalating security dilemma. By examining the historical basis for territorial claims, such as the Philippines’ establishment of the Kalayaan municipality and China’s reliance on the Nine-Dash Line, the chapter highlights the strategic measures both nations have taken to assert their claims. Key developments, including the South China Sea Arbitration and the forced transfer of Thomas Cloma’s claims, provide insight into the legal and historical contexts of the dispute. The chapter also draws parallels with the Russo-Ukrainian War and the IsraeliPalestinian conflict, illustrating how regional disputes can lead to arms races and increased military spending. Recommendations from Latin American case studies, such as the Beagle Channel and Chile-Peru disputes, offer a framework for peaceful resolution through international mediation and adherence to legal processes, providing alternatives to militarization in the region.
Russia in the South China Sea: Balancing and Hedging
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Although on the surface Russia remains distant and disengaged from the South China Sea (SCS) dispute, its comprehensive strategic partnership relations and large-scale arms deals with China and Vietnam – Russia’s closest Asian allies but also major rival parties to the dispute – reveal that Moscow has strategic interests and goals that affect, directly or indirectly, the evolution of the dispute. Russia’s ambivalent stance toward the dispute in the form of supporting both China and Vietnam is the manifestation of two different modes of great power behavior that unfold at different levels but happen to intersect in the SCS. One is systemic balancing, which is aimed at checking and blocking the strongest power in the system – the United States. The other is regional hedging, which combines engagement and containment and helps to avoid taking one side at the obvious expense of another. These two different modes of great power behavior coexist in Russia’s behavior toward the SCS. Untangling the two levels sheds light on the essence and evolution of Russia’s policies in the region, which have created a win-win situation, however imperfect, for China and Vietnam and have contributed to the formation of a more manageable negotiation environment.
American Yearbook of International Law
AMERICAN YEARBOOK OF INTERNATIONAL LAW (AYIL), 2023
Within the globalization era, the conduct, resolution,and impact of international conflicts are frequently not limited solely to the belligerent states involved. Conflict influences distant countries and often illustrates the vulnerability of sea access to the security of coastal and landlocked nations, by factoring in that: import/export commodities are impacted;access to vital energy resources is undermined; and/or international resource distribution is threatened. Therefore, the maritime domain (and its military, legal, and commercial components) represents a Russia/Ukraine conflict cornerstone and the epicenter of this analysis.
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Territorial dispute in the South China Sea (SCS) which involves China and several ASEAN member-states has recently become one of the major threats to international security in Southeast Asia leading to continuous political tensions in the region. It may result not only in a split within ASEAN but also in drawing the non-regional powers into conflict. U.S.A. as the most important of such powers tries to use the existing tensions for strengthening its influence in the region and its stance in confrontation with China. While Moscow has recently made efforts to intensify its presence in Asia, it still does not see the South China Sea region as a foreign policy priority. Generally, it sticks to neutrality on the issue of sovereignty over the disputed islands. At the same time, Russia’s approach to the SCS problem can be characterised by a limited shift towards strengthening support of Beijing’s position. Acting this way Russia wishes to support a strategic partner in order to win its str...
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This article analyses the water security problems in Central Asia by comparing Kazakhstan’s and Uzbekistan’s policy regarding the Aral Sea. As one of the perpetual problem in Central Asia, the condition of freshwater resources in the Aral Sea has been worsening for the last decades. Efforts by governments were isolated and unorganised. Both the Kazakhstan and the Uzbek government, which had their own share of the problem, had been unable to cooperate on this issue. This article tries to elaborate the problem by using the theory on securitisation process, regional security complex, and the patterns of amity-enmity. This research finds that while the amity-enmity patterns was absent, the differing process of securitisation (in Kazakhstan) and de-securitisation (in Uzbekistan) had forced both states to embark on their own strategies and policies regarding the Aral Sea. Keywords: water security, securitisation, Aral Sea, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan.