Maritime issues in North-East Asia: Their impact on regional politics

The author provides an introduction to the politics of the North-east Asia region, a survey of local maritime issues and disputes, and examines the impact of the new ocean regime on this region. He concludes that, although there are many substantial maritime disputes in North-east Asia, these are in general subordinated to larger determinants of political relations, and do not themselves have a major impact on regional politics. Soviet—Japanese relations, however, constitute an exception to this rule. Dr Buzan argues that the disputes over fishing and the northern islands played a key role in impeding better Soviet-Japanese relations, and thereby facilitated the current Sino — Japanese rapprochement with its potentially global implications.