Sino-japanese East China Sea Dispute And The Sino-japanese Energy Cooperation

In 2005 the demarcation of the East China Sea became a hot issue inChina-Japan relations. As Chunxiao oil and gas field would soon go into operation,Japan accused China of violating its marine rights and interests on the grounds ofinternational law and "straw pipe effects". The East China Sea is rich in oil and gasreserves, so its demarcation concerns not only the territorial sovereignty of bothcountries but also their fundamental economic interests and security interests.At present China-Japan relations are in a difficult period. The escalation of theEast China Sea demarcation disputes further strains the bilateral ties. The East ChinaSea demarcation disputes are an epitome of China-Japan energy disputes. China andJapan are faced with similar difficulties in the field of energy and the two big energyconsumers compete vehemently to ensure energy supply. The development history ofChina-Japan relations tells us that the two countries will both benefit fromcooperation but lose in vicious competition. There is great cooperation potential forthe two countries no matter in bilateral or multilateral sense. Then competition shouldgive way to cooperation and efforts should be made to improve the energy security ofthe two countries and the North-east Asia at large. Once the causes for tense regionalsituation are removed, a win-win result will ensue.This thesis consists of five parts. Part I gives an introduction to the origin andcurrent situation of the East China Sea disputes;in part II the author makes ananalysis of the rationality of China's argument that the natural extension principleshall be applied in the demarcation of the East China Sea continental shelf;part IIIexplores the deep-rooted causes of the East China Sea disputes as well as the changesof Japanese energy policy on China from the perspective of international relations;part IV mainly looks into the prospect for the settlement of this issue and contendsthat joint development will be the practical and reasonable way to solve the problem;part V evaluates the cooperation potential between China and Japan in energy,suggesting that excessive energy competition between them will lead to politicalfrictions and endanger security and stability of North-east Asia rather than facilitatethe two sides' access to the energy resources of which they are in dire need.