Research On The Legal Status Of Arctic Passage

Also known as the Arctic Passage, Arctic waterways is the shortest sea lane connecting Asia, Europe and North America. Since the new route opened, the Arctic Passage is becoming the focus of attention, especially in recent years, the destruction of the ozone layer caused by global warming melting Arctic ice, making the shipping value and strategic position of the Arctic Passage become more and more evident. The Arctic Passage is becoming the battlefield of great powers, the circumpolar nations and other non-circumpolar nations who wants to make use of arctic route are eyeing the Arctic Passage, that’s why its legal status has became the key issue of concern in these countries. Some circumpolar nations such as Russia, Canada, the United States put forward their own ideas about the Arctic Passage’s ownership based on the theories of historic rights, straight baselines and international straits, and China as a big emerging country, Arctic Passage is equally important to her interests in political, economic and military fields, in order to make better use of the Arctic Passage, its legal status should also be concerned by China.Through the discussion of the definition and the value of the Arctic Passage and by elaborating the advocates over the Northern Sea Route and the Northwest Passage as well as the attitude of each country, this article has analysed deeply the legal status of the Arctic Passage and then proposed its own opinions about how our country to make use of the Arctic Passage. This article has developed its arguments in the following sections:in the first part, it introduces the Arctic Passage’s values from the view of the circumpolar nations, non circumpolar nations; the second part describes the events of legal disputes about the Northern Sea Route and the Northwest Passage respectively, and defines the focus of the disputes which is the issue of legal status; in the third part, the author has explained the position of Russia, Canada, the United States and other countries respectively to analyze the legal status of these two passages; the forth part is to provide the value of Arctic Passage for our country and strategies of utilizing the Arctic Passage, that is, not only participate actively in the international Arctic affairs and promote the development and implementation of Arctic Passage systems but also develop relevant laws and regulations; in the final part of conclusion, we have proposed that by making use of Arctic Passage and benefiting from its convenience and interests, we should also protect the ecological environment of the Arctic area, maintain ecological balance and guarantee its sustainable exploitation in resources.