SCIO briefing on China's policy on the Arctic
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E-mail China.org.cn, January 26, 2018
China News Service:
What is China's attitude towards international governance in Arctic? And what is the expectation in this regard? Thanks.
Kong Xuanyou:
China has always taken the governance of Arctic issues as a major goal in participating in cooperation. In recent years, along with relevant parties, we have been exploring ways to realize win-win results through engaging in Arctic governance. There are three key words underlined with regard to international governance: protection, respect and development.
The first key word represents protecting the basic legal framework concerning international governance in regard to the Arctic. There is, as yet, no international treaty to regulate activities in arctic regions, but the UN Charter, UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Spitsbergen Treaty all provide a basic legal framework for international governance of the Arctic to follow; they have proved to be effective and have been accepted by relevant countries, ensuring fair and reasonable order in the Arctic region. To look ahead, international governance in the Arctic should continue to uphold the basic legal framework.
The second key word refers to respecting the cooperative mechanism regarding international governance in the Arctic. Over the years, we have seen a diversified cooperation mechanism at the global, regional and national levels with the participation of many stakeholders. The mechanism is now proceeding well in general, and has contributed significantly to Arctic cooperation in different areas. Looking ahead, international governance in Arctic should fully respect the existing cooperation mechanism, accommodate the interests of different parties in a balanced way and achieve win-win results.
The last key word means achieving orderly development of international governance in the Arctic in keeping with the times. Recently, we have seen many new rules regarding Arctic rescue, research and navigation. And negotiations on the Fishery Treaty on the High Sea of the Arctic Ocean have been completed, becoming the latest development of international governance in Arctic. We expect the relevant parties to continue upholding the spirit of mutual respect and win-win cooperation, realize steady and orderly development of international governance in the Arctic. Thanks.
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