Bridging Troubled Waters: China, Japan, and Maritime Order in the East China Sea

Recent tension between China and Japan over the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands suggests that the two nations are entering into a strategic rivalry where the threat of military conflict is real. This book explores the Sino-Japanese maritime relationship and makes the case that despite these tensions and a seemingly intractable dispute, cooler heads are likely to prevail. Manicom explains how China and Japan have a track record of cooperation on maritime disputes in several areas: fisheries exploitation and conservation, hydrocarbon resource exploitation, and cooperation over marine surveys. Past experience even suggests that they are capable of managing crises over disputed islands and their surrounding waters. The best way to maintain peace and find a way forward is a grand bargain that addresses the two outstanding issues in the maritime relationship: resource exploitation and the conduct of vessels at sea. Despite periods of severe tension, the evidence presented gives hope that China and Japan are capable of finding a new modus vivendi in the East China Sea.