This book presents narratives, perspectives and policies on the Arctic
and brings to fore the strategies of five Asian countries - China,
India, Japan, Republic of Korea and Singapore who were granted the
status of Permanent Observers in the Arctic Council in 2013. The book
also captures Arctic countries' reactions to Asian approaches, and their
expectations from these countries.
The melting of the polar sea-ice induced by climate change has placed
the Arctic region in the forefront of global scientific, economic,
strategic and academic interest. The discourse involves a number of
issues such as claims of the littoral countries to the continental
shelves of the region, the management and exploitation of its living and
non-living resources, the rights and interests of indigenous
communities, and the prospects of new ice-free shipping routes. The
contemporary discourse also suggests that the Arctic region presents
challenges and offers opportunities for the international community.
These issues have given rise to new geopolitical, geoeconomic, and
geostrategic dynamics amongst the Arctic littorals, and led to the
growing interest of non-Arctic states in the affairs of the Arctic. It
is evident that the Asian countries have a variety of interests in the
Arctic, and the grant of Permanent Observer status to these countries is
an acknowledgement of their capabilities. These countries are keen to
explore opportunities in the Arctic, and have begun to formulate
appropriate long-term national strategies. The preliminary approach of
the Asian Observer countries has rightly been to graduate from
'involvement' to 'engagement' in the Arctic, which seems to have
generated significant interest amongst analysts. This book helps to
understand the approaches of various Arctic and non-Arctic stakeholders,
in light of the evolving dynamics in the region.
