Coming Crisis: China has become increasingly interested in the Arctic in recent years due to the melting of the polar ice-cap, and its own desperate need for energy resources and raw materials for its growing economy. Access to natural resources and shortened shipping routes has prompted China to look at what Arctic might provide. China is not an Arctic littoral state, has no Arctic coast, and as such neither sovereign rights over region’s continental shelves nor the resources that lay beneath them. Regardless as an emerging global power and permanent member of United Nations Security Council, it is expected to seek a role in determining this framework and legal foundations for the region’s future management. The changing situation in the Arctic has raised many questions and uncertainties about its future and could lead to new geopolitical challenges for both Arctic littoral states and non-Arctic countries. These issues are primarily related to free passage and resource extraction rights. To this end, countries across Asia, including China, Europe and North America are concerned with this transformation and its economic, territorial and geopolitical implications Source: The Coming Crisis
Sunday, 22 July 2012
China's Quest for Arctic Access & Resources
Coming Crisis: China has become increasingly interested in the Arctic in recent years due to the melting of the polar ice-cap, and its own desperate need for energy resources and raw materials for its growing economy. Access to natural resources and shortened shipping routes has prompted China to look at what Arctic might provide. China is not an Arctic littoral state, has no Arctic coast, and as such neither sovereign rights over region’s continental shelves nor the resources that lay beneath them. Regardless as an emerging global power and permanent member of United Nations Security Council, it is expected to seek a role in determining this framework and legal foundations for the region’s future management. The changing situation in the Arctic has raised many questions and uncertainties about its future and could lead to new geopolitical challenges for both Arctic littoral states and non-Arctic countries. These issues are primarily related to free passage and resource extraction rights. To this end, countries across Asia, including China, Europe and North America are concerned with this transformation and its economic, territorial and geopolitical implications Source: The Coming Crisis