Address
The world’s oceans today are fraught with disturbing factors which seriously destabilize the maritime security environment in the world. Among such factors are unconventional threats of piracy and maritime terrorism; interstate disputes over marine resources and sovereignty of islands; the maritime order failing to prevail as betrayed by recent jurisdictional disputes over the Arctic Sea; increasing difficulties in control and regulation over the shipping sector because of a larger number of business alliances that transcend national borders and the prevalence of FOC ships; overfishing and marine resources depletion; the delayed environmental assessment of emerging exploitation of seabed resources; the deteriorating marine environment caused by pollution and climate changes, besides traditional state-to-state conflicts.
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The United States and Japan as maritime nations should establish a new sea power of the 21st century by forging a maritime state alliance; take the lead in solving diverse ocean-related issues, and make strenuous efforts toward the creation of a new world maritime order. Needless to say, the United States-Japan Alliance is the strongest partnership in the Asia-Pacific region. Apprehension, however, is growing over its “fraying around the edges.” As the maritime order emerges as a foremost concern, such efforts as to build up a matured bilateral relationship afresh in the maritime sphere would give a great stimulus to invigorate the humdrum discussion of the two nations’ alliance.
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