A race for energy resources makes unresolved territorial disputes more dangerous in both North-East and South-East Asia

Tags: borders, political, conflict, war, China, Japan, East Asia.

Seth Dixon, Ph.D.‘s insight:

Many of the geopolitical conflicts in the East Pacific have their roots in the territorial disputes over islands that at first glance seem as if they wouldn’t be worth the trouble.  However, since the the UNCLOS agreement gives countries 200 nautical miles off their coasts to be an Exclusive Economic Zone, that greatly enhanced the strategic value of controlling these islands. 

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