Rare Earths: Future Elements of Conflict in Asia?

Abstract

China’s sudden suspension of rare earth exports to Japan in September 2010 represented the opening of a new front in the international competition for natural resources. As the demands of the global economy change, the international demand for rare earths, which are used in a diverse range of high-tech industries, has also increased. As China is currently the largest rare earths exporter, its actions in regulating rare earths exports will directly affect the interests of other states in the supply chain. This paper therefore examines how China assumed this dominant position in the supply chain. It also looks at how major rare earths consumers such as Japan and South Korea are reducing their reliance on and vulnerability to Chinese rare earths supplies through means such as seabed exploration in disputed territories, which might contribute to geopolitical tensions and instability in the East Asian region.

稀土——构成亚洲未来冲突的元素

摘要:

在中日两国继钓鱼岛 (Diaoyu Islands)/尖阁群岛 (Senkaku Islands) 之争议于该海域附近发生海上争端后, 2010年9月中国突然叫停对日稀土出口, 此举反映了这一多获研讨的问题的严峻现实性。多年来, 稀有金属的供应问题颇受政策专家和业界分析人士的关注, 而现在更是摆在了国际舞台的台面上。在通过自由化的市场经济解决资源配置问题上, 不管是由于对其可行性的不以为然还是笃信不疑, 都让中国在全球稀土生产上取得了近乎一家独大的地位, 而这些稀土又正是现今大量高科技产品所必不可少的原料。通过对这一产业发展的探索, 本文将考察中国如何以及为何得以掌控这些重要性日益提升的商品的获取和供应？日本和韩国又如何力图减少对阴晴难料的中国供应链的依赖？最后, 意图从争议地区的海底提取稀土为何有可能在未来数年的东北亚导致越来越紧张的地缘政治局势？

关键词:自然资源、资源安全、稀土、东北亚、地缘政治

Keywords:

• natural resources
• resource security
• rare earths
• Northeast Asia
• geopolitics

Notes

1. All figures are based on figures released by the People’s Republic of China Ministry of Commerce and gathered from Metal Pages. The URLs are http://english.mofcom.gov.cn/ and http://www.metal-pages.com/ respectively. These websites were accessed in November 2011.

2. For more information, see Xī tǔ gōng yè wū rǎn wù pái fàng biāo zhǔn (GB26451 fàng biāo) http://kjs.mep.gov.cn/pv_obj_cache/pv_obj_id_41D98CE00CFE396700315824DA96D4F024250600/filename/W020110210366768105784.pdf, accessed November 2011.