China’s strategy in the Arctic: a case of lawfare?

Abstract

Interest in the Arctic has increased considerably in recent years, in both academic and policy circles. The role of China has figured prominently in many debates currently surrounding the Arctic. Relating to claims that a “China threat” might materialise in the region, concerns are being raised that China is employing “lawfare” to pursue its objectives in the Arctic. In an attempt to re-examine such assertions, this paper addresses the question “To what extent does China’s strategy in the Arctic constitute a case of lawfare?” In defining lawfare as “the misuse of the law to achieve a military objective and to undermine the legal framework”, the findings of this paper belie the perception that China’s activities in the Arctic qualify as lawfare. Rather, China’s actions have been in compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea; its main objectives in the Arctic seem to be economic and commercial instead of military in nature; and reform advocacy is not unique to China and might even strengthen rather than undermine the Arctic’s current legal and governance framework.

Keywords:

• lawfare
• China
• Arctic
• Arctic Council
• UNCLOS

Notes

¹ Hough, International Politics, 2–7.

² Ibid., 13.

³ Klare, The Race for What’s left, 6.

⁴ Jakobson, “China Prepares,” 1; for a more detailed discussion of climate change in the Arctic, see Anderson, After the Ice, 92–9.

⁵ USGS, “90 Billion Barrels of Oil.”

⁶ Jakobson, “China Prepares,” 8; Sharp, “The Implications of Ice Melt,” 301.

⁷ Sharp, “The Implications of Ice Melt,” 299.

⁸ Klare, The Race for What’s left, 94–7.

⁹ See e.g. Craciun, “The Scramble,” 104; Huebert, “Cooperation or Conflict”; Klare, The Race for What’s left, 74, 94–5; Lasserre et al., “Is there an Arms Race.”

¹⁰ Lasserre, “China and the Arctic”; Rainwater, “Race to the North,” 63.

¹¹ Rainwater, “Race to the North,” 74.

¹² Chen, “China’s Emerging Arctic Strategy,” 360.

¹³ Cheng, “Winning without Fighting.”

¹⁴ Keck, “With Air Defense Zone.”

¹⁵ Hill, “Lawfare and the International Criminal Court.”

¹⁶ Holzer, “Offensive Lawfare,” 3.

¹⁷ Dunlap, “Law and Military Interventions,” 5, 11.

¹⁸ Dunlap, “Lawfare Today,” 146.

¹⁹ Dunlap, “Does Lawfare need an Apologia?” 122.

²⁰ Holzer, “Offensive Lawfare,” 3–4.

²¹ Tiefenbrun, “Semiotic Definition,” 31.

²² Hill, “Lawfare and the International Criminal Court.”

²³ For a discussion of “nexus” and “positive” approaches, see Hill, “Lawfare and the International Criminal Court” and Holzer, “Offensive Lawfare,” 4–5; for a definition of lawfare as applied to post-colonialism, see Comaroff and Comaroff, “Law and Disorder.”

²⁴ Quoted in Jakobson, “China Prepares,” 9.

²⁵ The Economist, “They May be Some Time.”

²⁶ Chen, “China’s Emerging Arctic Strategy,” 368.

²⁷ See e.g. Jakobson and Peng, “China’s Arctic Aspirations,” 22; Rainwater, “Race to the North,” 78.

²⁸ cf. Rainwater, “Race to the North,” 71.

²⁹ Brady, “China’s Rise.”

³⁰ Chen, “China’s Emerging Arctic Strategy,” 362, 369; Jakobson, “China Prepares,” 3; Jakobson and Peng, “China’s Arctic Aspirations,” 1–2; and Xinhua, “Chinese Icebreaker concludes.”

³¹ Jakobson and Peng, “China’s Arctic Aspirations,” 10–1.

³² Ibid., 11.

³³ Myers, “Arctic Council Adds 6 Nations.”

³⁴ Arctic Council, “About the Arctic Council.”

³⁵ Arctic Council, “Observers.”

³⁶ Koivurova, “Limits and Possibilities,” 146.

³⁷ Jakobson, “China Prepares,” 13.

³⁸ Ibid.

³⁹ Fouche, “China, Norway May Team Up.”

⁴⁰ Rainwater, “Race to the North,” 71–2.

⁴¹ Aaron Friedberg, quoted in Chen, “China’s Emerging Arctic Strategy,” 363.

⁴² Chen, “China’s Emerging Arctic Strategy,” 368.

⁴³ Jakobson and Peng, “China’s Arctic Aspirations,” 15.

⁴⁴ Ibid., 16.

⁴⁵ UN, “Chronological Lists of Ratifications.”

⁴⁶ Gayazova, “China’s Rights in the Marine Arctic,” 74, 81–2.

⁴⁷ Jakobson and Peng, “China’s Arctic Aspirations,” 23.

⁴⁸ Zellen, Arctic Doom, Arctic Boom, 107.

⁴⁹ Sharp, “The Implications of Ice Melt,” 303.

⁵⁰ Borgerson, “Arctic Meltdown,” 74.

⁵¹ Jakobson and Peng, “China’s Arctic Aspirations,” 10.

⁵² Guschin, “Understanding China’s Arctic Policies.”

⁵³ Ibid.

⁵⁴ Chen, “China’s Emerging Arctic Strategy,” 361; Rainwater, “Race to the North,” 65.

⁵⁵ Jakobson and Peng, “China’s Arctic Aspirations,” 22; Rainwater, “Race to the North,” 70.

⁵⁶ Jakobson and Peng, “China’s Arctic Aspirations,” 12.

⁵⁷ Jakobson, “China Prepares,” 9.

⁵⁸ Borgerson, “Arctic Meltdown,” 72; Hough, International Politics, 104.

⁵⁹ Young, “The Arctic in Play.”

⁶⁰ Koivurova, “Limits and Possibilities,” 151.

⁶¹ Pedersen, “Debates Over the Role.”

⁶² Verhaag, “It is Not Too Late,” 555.

⁶³ Klare, “Rushing for the Arctic’s Riches.”

⁶⁴ Quoted in Wegge, “The EU and the Arctic,” 17.

⁶⁵ Koivurova, “Alternatives for an Arctic Treaty,” 26.

⁶⁶ See e.g. Bert, “The Arctic is Now”; Borgerson, “Arctic Meltdown.”