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2018 Vol. 26, No. 5  Published: 21 May 2018
 
Paradigms of Environmental Security Research:Comparison and Contents Hot!
LI Jianfu
2018, 26(5): 1-15  |  Full text (HTML) (1 KB)  | PDF   PDF (1112 KB)  ( 896 )
Abstract
The research on environmental security is carried out in two distinct paradigms, namely problem-solving theory and criticism. The former emphasizes that certain causal relations exist between environmental conflict and the resource scarcity, maldevelopment, climate change etc., which are not direct and many factors are involved. It should be mentioned that there is a clear boundary between environmental conflict and the war among nations. All the countries are striving to alleviate the side-effect of environmental conflict by adjusting their national strategies. Meanwhile, the international community is sparing no effort to construct the post-Westphalian system of governance in order to realize environmental peace globally. By contrast, criticism challenges the application scope and solutions proposed by the traditional security research, claiming that the environmental conflict will not happen in the international community despite the exhaustion of resources. The reason lies in the fact that the development of new technologies, alternative energy, and the international trade makes it possible to meet energy demand of the international community so that the environmental conflict could be avoided. The dominant role of the state in environmental politics is also criticized by the criticism, which advocates the decentralization of the state and the significance of new discourse for environmental security in the
development of national strength. Also, criticism provides different perspectives on security issues related to climate change, and argues against the cause, influence scope of, and solutions to climate change.
RAND Corporation and Its Studies on China's Military Hot!
CHEN Qing, XIAO Huan
2018, 26(5): 16-28  |  Full text (HTML) (1 KB)  | PDF   PDF (1155 KB)  ( 2319 )
Abstract
Sponsored by the U.S. military establishments, RAND Corporation maintains a close relationship with the military and has a significant influence on the U.S. military policies. Through the statistics and analyses of the articles related to China's military from 2012 to 2017, a comprehensive understanding of its opinions, focuses, scholars and sponsors can be achieved. RAND's studies on China's military are timely, predictable, and instructive, which are important references for us to understand the gap between America's and China's military, and the dynamic changing of the policy-making of the U.S. government. Furthermore, RAND's experience of management can also be learned by the Chinese think tanks in the defense area.
On the Validity of Japanese Decrees Concerning the Outer Limits of the Continental Shelf on the Basis of Recommendations of the CLCS Hot!
YIN Jie
2018, 26(5): 29-39  |  Full text (HTML) (1 KB)  | PDF   PDF (8093 KB)  ( 596 )
Abstract
Article 76 of the 1982 United Nations Conventions on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)  provides a set of rules for delineating outer limits of continental shelves, establishes the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS), and entitles the CLCS with the rights to review scientific and technical data and information submitted by coastal States to support the outer limits of their continental shelf and to make corresponding recommendations. The recommendations made by the CLCS are not legally binding, for the UNCLOS merely declares that “the limits of the shelf established by a coastal State on the basis of these recommendations shall be final and binding”. However, the recommendations serve as the foundation in defining the final outer limits. This article, based on subsequent actions of the coastal states to the CLCS’ recommendations, analyzes the validity of the recommendations, and discusses the validity of the decree on the outer limits of the continental shelf in the framework of international law, which is issued by the Japanese cabinet in 2014. It proposes that the outer limits defined by Japan in accordance with its domestic law go against the recommendations of the CLCS, and that Japan takes its domestic law as a defence and fails to fulfill its legal obligations according to the international law. In this way, the decree is not valid for any third country, nor can it be recognized as final and binding by the international community.
Research on the Cultural Value of the CPIT International Transportation Corridor Hot!
WANG Chengfu, HUANG Chengfeng
2018, 26(5): 40-50  |  Full text (HTML) (1 KB)  | PDF   PDF (1018 KB)  ( 837 )
Abstract
As the pioneer in the implementation of “facilities connectivity”, the international transportation corridor bridging China, Pakistan, Iran and Turkey (CPIT), makes an important skeleton of the Silk Road Economic Belt, of which the essence lies in the inheritance and development of spirits of the ancient Silk Road. Studying the cultural value of the corridor contributes to exploring the transportation corridor’s soft power from the angle of culture. The route of the Silk Road connecting China, Pakistan, Iran and Turkey coordinates and complements with that associating Han Empire, Kushan Empire, Parthian Empire and Roman Empire along the ancient Silk Road. The article, comparing the contemporary Silk Road with the ancient one, analyzes the cultural value of the CPIT international transportation corridor from three aspects:the cultural value of material objects, systems, and carriers, aiming to draw lessons from history and to build on past successes to further advance the cause.
Mineral Security and Resource Strategy in the Belt and Road Initiative Hot!
YU Hongyuan
2018, 26(5): 51-62  |  Full text (HTML) (1 KB)  | PDF   PDF (1782 KB)  ( 1226 )
Abstract
Mineral resources play an essential role in social and economic development of all the countries. As the most important importer and consumer of mineral resources in the world, China is highly dependent on foreign resources and is relatively vulnerable to resource trade, price fluctuations and geopolitical and economic impacts. Most of the countries along the Belt and Road are producers of mineral resources, whose cooperation with China has made rapid progress and has great potential. However, there are risks and challenges such as domestic politics, laws, nationalism and the geogame among great powers. In view of this, China needs to promote resources diplomacy in the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, the construction of relevant international system and cooperation platform, and the implementation of concrete projects, so as to promote the sustainable development of the Belt and Road through resource
cooperation.
The Sino-Kazakh Transboundary Water Resources Cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative Hot!
ZHENG Chenjun
2018, 26(5): 63-71  |  Full text (HTML) (1 KB)  | PDF   PDF (992 KB)  ( 1282 )
Abstract
The successful coordination of China’s the Belt and Road initiative and Kazakhstan’s “Bright Road” initiative has profound practical significance. Faced with such policy guidelines and development opportunities, effective management and utilization of water resources in  transboundary rivers shared by the two countries make a crucial aspect of cooperation. In this area, two countries have established a basic framework for cooperation. Nevertheless, both sides have strong demands of water resources, and there are still a series of constraints regarding water allocation cooperation. The international water law and policy provide a clear guideline for the cooperation between the two countries, and the guidance of international conventions and the experience of national practices can be referred in Sino-Kazakhstan transboundary water resources cooperation. The high-level platform of  coordination is helpful to enhance the water resources cooperation. Establishing rules for better prioritization of the allocations of water resources and mechanisms for sustainable cooperation are two important problems to be solved.
A Study on the Feasibility of Sino-Philippine “Joint Development” in Oil and Gas Resources in the South China Sea Hot!
LI Jinming
2018, 26(5): 72-81  |  Full text (HTML) (1 KB)  | PDF   PDF (1013 KB)  ( 1696 )
Abstract
There have been two unsuccessful experiences in the “joint development” in oil and gas resources in the South China Sea between China and the Philippines: one was the Tripartite Agreement for Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) signed by China, the Philippines and Vietnam in 2005; the other was the efforts made by Forum Energy and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) of joint exploration in Liyue Tan in 2012. The crux of the two unsuccessful “joint development” lies in the interference of the United States, the country outside the South China Sea, and the Philippines’s request to China’s acknowledgement of its “sovereignty” over Li Yue Tan (the Reed Bank). Since President Duterte came to power in 2016, he has changed his predecessor Aquino III’s tough approach to China by setting aside the Arbitral Tribunal’s awards and stepping up bilateral contacts with China to improve SinoPhilippine relations. Thus, the two countries reiterated the “joint development” in disputed waters in the South China Sea and set up a bilateral consultation mechanism on disputes over the South China Sea. As a result, the feasibility of “joint development” has been markedly increased.
The PolicyBased Oil Loans and Sino-Russian Energy Cooperation in the Context of the Belt and Road Initiative Hot!
DIAO Li,HU Juan
2018, 26(5): 82-89  |  Full text (HTML) (1 KB)  | PDF   PDF (1429 KB)  ( 911 )
Abstract
China ensures the supply of energy through various channels at present, and the energy cooperation via the policy-based loans is a typical representative of the development in recent years. This article employs the policy-based loans as the pivot, takes the “Sino-Russian policy-based oil loans” project as a typical case, and adopts the quantitative method of vector autoregression (VAR) to analyze the interests distribution of the Sino-Russian oil cooperation and the influence on their economic development. The results show that the cooperation of Sino-Russian  policy-based oil loans at this stage has a shortterm economic development advantage for China and a longterm advantage for Russia. At the same time, it is suggested that China should expand the operation scope of policy-based loans in foreign energy cooperation, stipulate reasonable limit time and reasonable loan interest rate, and strengthen the oil supply mechanism between China and Russia. For policy-based loans and outward foreign direct investment: China should use policybased loans to expand the sources of funds for outward foreign direct investment,  and strengthen coordination between policy-based loans and financial institutions in the host country.
Environmental Arbitration in the Antarctic Treaty Area: Problems and Prospects Hot!
LI Xueping
2018, 26(5): 90-98  |  Full text (HTML) (1 KB)  | PDF   PDF (991 KB)  ( 761 )
Abstract
Bearing with climate change and hi-technology development, the frequency to enter and exit from the Antarctic Treaty Area has been sharply increasing, which makes the Antarctic environmental protection  more serious and makes disputes among signatories of the Antarctic Treaty inevitable. Out of all peaceful methods for settling such disputes, the arbitral approach regulated in the Madrid Protocol is very prominent. Considering the independence of the Antarctic Treaty System and influence of signatories’ activities on the Antarctic environment, although no case for arbitration has been practiced up to date, it is of urgent significance to confirm the status and the nature of the aforementioned arbitral approach in the perspective of international law, to clarify the jurisdiction scope
and exceptions of the arbitration tribunal, to explicate the laws and supplementary materials that could be applied by the tribunal and to dissect difficulties in the implementation of final rulings, with the aim to contribute to enhancing the practical effectiveness of the arbitral approach.
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