Northeast Asia is known for its strong variety of political, economic and social systems, and some of the most heavily populated cities and countries in the world. The region is not only characterized by its unique marine and coastal settings, such as large marine ecosystems, island chains, wide gulfs, ship-crowded straits, but also commercially important fishing and mariculture grounds and rich offshore mineral resources such as oil and gas.

　

 However, the fast population growth and rapid economic development in its coastal areas have inevitably resulted in enormous pressures on the marine environment and its resources. The task of marine environmental protection and sustainable development has further complicated by the various issues of ocean governance, including the slow development of institutional frameworks and inadequate implementation regimes.

　

 For the purpose of our study, the countries included in the analysis are the five countries bordering the East China Sea, the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan, namely China, Japan, the Republic of Korea (South Korea), the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and the Russian Federation. The deliberations of this paper focus on the environmental, legal and institutional developments of the ocean governance in the region.

　

 This paper studies the current status of the existing environmental management regimes in the Northeast Asian Seas. The aim of the discussions is two fold: first, identification of the major problems and inadequacies of the current marine environmental management regimes in the region; second, the offer of some policy suggestions on the prospective institutional approaches to marine regional cooperation, with a view to environmentally securing the oceans in Northeast Asia.

　

 To this end, the paper proceeds in four major parts. First, the paper sets off with a brief introduction to the marine environmental developments in the Northeast Asian seas. Second, it reviews the major legal and institutional regimes in the region. Third, some of the major problems associated with the regional cooperation in ocean governance and environmental protection are identified and analyzed. Finally, the paper concludes with some policy suggestion on the prospects of institutional developments in the region.

　

 Ever since the end of the Second World War, the relations of the countries in Northeast Asia have been plagued by political and ideological differences. Ocean development and marine even environmental protection were not exclusion to this general trend in the region.

　

 Since approximately the 1970s of the last century, expansion of coastal state jurisdiction over maritime space and increased competition for ocean resources has transferred most area of the marginal seas of the region into national zones of jurisdiction, or areas of overlapping national claims. These sea areas became once in a while the source of political tension or sites of conflict between the coastal states. For this and other reasons, marine environmental management in general, and its legal and institutional build-ups in particular in the Northeast Asian lagged behind the overall situation in the region.

　

 All the coastal states in Northeast Asia, except North Korea, are now parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Their maritime claims and jurisdictions are summarized in Table 1.

　

 With the entry into force of the UNCLOS in 1994, coastal states in the region have embarked on a new round of "ocean enclosure" movement. In addition to the traditional claims on territorial sea, exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and continental shelf, the major coastal states in the region have either completed, or undergone preparation of, their submission to apply for outer continental shelf as provided for in the UNCLOS.¹ The Russian Federation has submitted its application to the International Seabed Authority in 2002. Japan and China are reportedly busy with their continental investigation programs with a view of making their submissions before 2009.

　

 In more recent time, two possible evolution trends may be observed. First, in the wake of the Cold War, there has been a transformation of both political and economic systems across the region. Most governments became more pragmatic and less ideological in both domestic policies and regional relations. The region as a whole is more tuned towards pursuing peace and development, including "securing the oceans". States are now focusing on such task as maximizing national wealth and strength for competition in an increasingly global market and economy. Many coastal states in the regional are aware that the development and use of ocean resources could stimulate economic growth of the country, but also reduce development gap with their coastal neighbors.

　

 Second, after the "September 11 attack", the traditional security concerns in the region has been overtaken by none-traditional security issues such as anti-terrorism and sustainable development. These regional trends have to some extent raised a practical requirement or created an opportunity for regional cooperation in Northeast Asian Seas.

　

　

 With the entry into force of the UNCLOS in 1994, coastal states in the region have embarked on a new round of "ocean enclosure" movement. In addition to the traditional claims on territorial sea, exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and continental shelf, the major coastal states in the region have either completed, or undergone preparation of, their submission to apply for outer continental shelf as provided for in the UNCLOS.² The Russian Federation has submitted its application to the International Seabed Authority in 2002. Japan and China are reportedly busy with their continental investigation programs with a view of making their submissions before 2009.

　

 In more recent time, two possible evolution trends may be observed. First, in the wake of the Cold War, there has been a transformation of both political and economic systems across the region. Most governments became more pragmatic and less ideological in both domestic policies and regional relations. The region as a whole is more tuned towards pursuing peace and development, including "securing the oceans". States are now focusing on such task as maximizing national wealth and strength for competition in an increasingly global market and economy. Many coastal states in the regional are aware that the development and use of ocean resources could stimulate economic growth of the country, but also reduce development gap with their coastal neighbors.

　

 Second, after the "September 11 attack", the traditional security concerns in the region has been overtaken by none-traditional security issues such as anti-terrorism and sustainable development. These regional trends have to some extent raised a practical requirement or created an opportunity for regional cooperation in Northeast Asian Seas.

　

 In addition, the Northwest-Pacific region has large and diverse ecosystems, some of which are threatened. Among the environmental problems, coastal degradation and resource depletion loss are perhaps two of the most pressing environmental challenges faced by the region. These environmental challenges are further compounded by problems of overpopulation, rapid industrialization, and an ever-increasing use of ocean resources. These challenges are also transboundary in nature, thus creating the need for states to cooperate in order to understand the interplay of the region's ocean development and governance.

　

 The Seas of Northeast Asia face serious transboundary environmental problems. Because of its semi-enclosed nature, any environmental problem within any part of the region can no longer be considered an isolated or localized incident, but a matter with potentially far-reaching ecological and socioeconomic implications. Regional marine environmental protection and management is of relative low political sensitivity with clear benefits of shared costs. Therefore, regional cooperation in the Northeast Asian Seas would be a good area to start with.

　

 The legal and institutional frameworks on environmental management in Northeast Asian Seas are briefly surveyed and summarized in the following paragraphs.

　

　

 The UNCLOS is of importance to mention since most states in the region have ratified the convention in the mid-1990s of last century. The LOS convention provides for a comprehensive framework for states parties and the region to develop national marine environmental policies and regional programmes. The Convention acknowledges that "the problems of ocean space are closely related and need to be considered as a whole,"³ and provides that all states have a general obligation to protect and preserve the marine environment, as well as a duty to enforce international regulations to protect the marine environment from all sources of pollution.⁴ For the purpose of our analysis, the LOS Convention also provides for an obligation on countries to develop cooperative marine environmental protection regimes, and calls on states bordering semi-enclosed seas to harmonize their policies regarding protection of the marine environment.⁵

　

　

 When it comes to marine environmental protection, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the most advanced ongoing multilateral cooperative efforts in the world. After almost two decades of deliberation and experience, its Regional Seas Programme presently encompasses 13 regional seas worldwide, and involves the participation of some 140 coastal countries and island states. Currently, ten conventions and some 28 protocols have been signed. Ten 'Action Plans' are operational. The 10 conventions under the UNEP Regional Seas Program are listed in Table 2.⁶

　

 All UNEP regional action plans have similar structures, which usually includes the following major components: (a) Environmental assessment, (b) Environmental management, (c) Environmental legislation, (d) Institutional arrangements, and (e) Financial arrangements.

　

 The aim of the UNEP Regional Seas Programme is to formulate a comprehensive approach to addressing environmental problems in the management of marine and coastal areas. As for the Asia-Pacific Region, three institutional frameworks have been established to govern the East Asian Seas, South Pacific Ocean, and Northwest Pacific Ocean. Two of them are relevant to the scope of this study.

　

　

 Under its umbrella programme, UNEP formulated an Action Plan for the Protection and Sustainable Development of the Marine Environment and Coastal Areas of the East Asian Region in 1981 to create a regional scientific programme to carry out research on the prevention and control of marine pollution in the area. The implementation of this Action Plan is governed by the Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA)⁷, which is composed of Australia, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. The Action Plan is composed of an assessment of the effects of human activities on the marine environment, control of coastal pollution, protection of mangroves, seagrasses, and coral reefs, waste management, and technology transfer. It established a project to undertake a large-scale transboundary diagnostic analysis of the South China Sea and the Gulf of Thailand.

　

 COBSEA has over the years developed three long-term strategies: the integration of projects and plans to achieve a regionally-balanced approach to the conservation of marine habitats of the East Asian seas; identification of regional priorities for action, particularly the protection of biodiversity, ecosystem rehabilitation, and management of pollution; and increasing the awareness of decision makers and the community on socio-economic, cultural, and ecological importance of marine ecosystems.⁸

　

　

 The Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA)⁹, is a regional programme established in 1999 on the basis of the Regional Programme for Marine Pollution Prevention and Management in the East Asian Seas.¹⁰ PEMSEA is implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and International Maritime Organization (IMO), and funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The 12 Participating countries to this programme include Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, and People's Republic of China, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

　

　

 The objective of PEMSEA is to support the efforts of the participating Governments in the prevention, control and management of marine pollution, at both the national and regional levels, on a long-term and self-reliant basis. It aims to protect the life support system of the seas of East Asia and enable the sustainable use of their renewable resources through intergovernmental, interagency, and intersectoral partnerships. The programme clearly recognizes that the semi-enclosed nature of the East Asian seas and the transboundary nature of the many of the problems have far-reaching ecological and socio-economic implication for the region. The participating countries "decided to work together to protect the life support systems of the Seas of East Asia and to enable the sustainable use of their renewable resources through intergovernmental, interagency and intersectoral partnerships."¹¹