NBR reunited two leading rare earths experts—Yufan Hao (University of Macau) and Jane Nakano (Center for Strategic and International Studies)—whose previous NBR Q&A details the political and economic dimensions of China’s halt of rare earth exports to Japan in 2010. Their latest remarks assess the context, possible consequences, and implications of the WTO case- for China, the rare earth industry, and global trade and politics.

As the world’s most dynamic economic region, Asia is attempting to expand electricity access and ensure energy security without compromising the environment. Mr. Herberg describes specific obstacles that lie ahead, as well as new opportunities that have emerged to help Asia make a shift toward abundant, reliable, and cleaner energy.

To inform plenary sessions and prompt thought-provoking discussion, the 2012 Summit organizers have commissioned policy papers from top experts in the field that will be distributed to Summit participants in advance of the meeting.

In advance of the 2012 Pacific Energy Summit, to be held in Hanoi, March 20–22, 2012, NBR asked Peter Hughes, Director and Head of the Energy Practice at Ricardo, a multi-industry energy consulting firm, to outline the important role that new technology can play in addressing Asia’s rapidly rising energy demand.

As part of its ongoing Energy Security Program, NBR gathered three senior energy and economic experts to examine the salient questions that surround Japan’s new energy outlook.

Seokwoo Lee

This essay seeks to clarify the obligatory language in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in order to improve compliance with the convention.

Clive Schofield and Dustin Kuan-Hsiung Wang

This essay explores the contentious issue of islands and their associated claims to maritime jurisdiction in international law with particular reference to the islands/rocks in East and Southeast Asia and especially the disputed islands of the South China Sea.

I Made Andi Arsana and Clive Schofield

This essay examines submissions to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS), with particular reference to East and Southeast Asia, and assesses their impact on the already complex and contentious maritime claims in the region.

Lowell B. Bautista

This essay examines recent decisions of international courts and tribunals—specifically, the 2009 Maritime Delimitation in the Black Sea case between Romania and Ukraine—and draws implications for the territorial and maritime boundary disputes in East and Southeast Asia.

Ian Townsend-Gault

This essay argues that effective management of maritime resources, as well as the preservation and protection of the marine environment in enclosed and semi-enclosed seas such as the Gulf of Thailand, South China Sea, and East China Sea, is possible only if the littoral states cooperate with one another in the discharge of their obligations and the pursuit of their rights.