A Legal Assessment of the Joint Resources Development in the East China Sea Between China and Japan

Abstract

The disputes of the joint development of energy resources in the East China Sea between China and Japan have not been solved yet. Since China and Japan are the largest two energy consumers in Asia, both of them worry about the shortage of energy supply, which constitutes an important part of energy security. After the process of bilateral talks from 2004 to 2008 negotiations, the parties achieved the first step in conducting joint resource development in the disputed areas. Neither UNCLOS nor the 2008 Consensus have provided legal authority for joint resources development. Diplomatic dialogues would be helpful to realize joint resource development in the East China Sea. Cooperation is the best way to mitigate the tensions between two countries and could benefit both of them.