This study is intended to draw up plans to achieve cross-border regional cooperation to accomplish economic development in the Circum-East Sea Bloc (CESB) from a green growth perspective. The CESB includes Russia, China, North Korea, Japan, and South ...
This study is intended to draw up plans to achieve cross-border regional cooperation to accomplish economic development in the Circum-East Sea Bloc (CESB) from a green growth perspective. The CESB includes Russia, China, North Korea, Japan, and South Korea. Successful regional cooperation among the CESB countries is based on the premise that the relevant parties are ready to participate together to reach a good understanding. Regional cooperation between and among the CESB countries was initiated in the early 1990s. Although there was initial momentum, it did not last. The discontinued cooperation was partly due to governments’ lukewarm support and political factors. In addition, co-operation did not yield hoped-for substantial benefits.
A certain opportunity or momentum is needed to induce regional cooperation among the CESB countries. This study emphasizes that a green growth strategy may provide the impetus to CESB regional cooperation, which is currently stalemated. Specifically, this study examines whether the CESB countries could play a hub role in regional green growth and, if so, which theoretical bases are needed, what should governments provide for and support, which institutional approach is needed to promote regional cooperation, what are the alternatives to green growth-led regional development, and so forth.
While global warming has sounded alarm about a threat to human existence itself, a green growth strategy could provide the key to reacting to those signals. Most experts agree that the CESB countries, which have abundant green resources, may be able to successfully fulfill the goal of green growth. The citizens of the CESB countries surveyed for this thesis assume that various cooperation activities could occur in the future and believe that much advancement in green industrialization based on green resources should be made. Additionally, they believe that multilateral and bilateral cooperation activities will occur regardless of the will of the citizens of the CESB countries. To see cross-border cooperation between local governments in neighboring countries occur, trust between countries must be built up first and foremost.
The author examined a variety of data, policies, and cooperative projects in the region needed to understand recent research trends and basic theories regarding regional cooperation. The survey research was carried out using questionnaire to gather the opinions of citizens of the countries concerned and of public employees who are aware, more or less, of the trends and future direction of the CESB policy. However, North Korea was excluded from the survey, due to the difficulty of gaining access to the citizens of the country.
A green growth strategy may help disentangle the complicated situation regarding regional cooperation between and among the CESB countries. In other parts of the world, developed countries regard investment activities dealing with global warming as opportunities to secure their future energy sources. Response initiatives by major countries, such as the United States’ New Apollo Project and Japan’s New Strategy for Green Growth, were differentiated investment strategies of farsighted national policies. We, representatives of the CESB countries, need to draw up a similar cooperation and investment strategy to transform the CESB into a center of green growth.
The CESB is the regional economic bloc comprising the major countries of northeast Asia. The CESB is expected to grow in strategic importance in the future, even while the countries still have many differences and challenges to resolve. The East Sea coastal region is being regarded as a base for the green energy industry, which is one of South Korea’s key national industries. The region has beautiful mountains, abundant historical and cultural resources, and many R&D facilities related to ocean resources. North Korea is preparing for economic liberalization by designating the Najin and Sunbong Free Trade Zone and the Mt. Kumgang Tourism Area. China is planning to pursue development in the East Sea region by focusing on its three northeast provinces. It is anticipated that Russia will enlarge its investment in the CESB with the aim of promoting energy, agriculture, fisheries, and tourism businesses in the region. The western coastal region of Japan is struggling to establish a strategic partnership with the CESB. These actions in neighboring countries will open a new era for the CESB in the fields of maritime affairs, energy, tourism, agriculture, fisheries, and logistics cooperation.
The citizens of the CESB assume that they must take the lead in developing regional cooperative activities in a proactive manner, and that several unforeseen regional cooperative activities of a positive nature will ensue. They also think local governments must seriously examine whether to establish a regional economic community, which will require more cooperation among local areas in neighboring countries in green growth sectors such as the environment, agriculture, fisheries, the economy, trade, culture, and tourism. In the view of the author, the central government should exert more efforts in mediating between local governments to promote cooperation between them, which is crucial to the promotion and success of large scale SOC projects such as ports and railroads. In the survey, residents of local areas emphasized the establishment of such infrastructure as the development of cooperative institutions for green growth, the strengthening of R&D partnerships among green companies, and joint study to identify ways of developing green resources.
In the author’s opinion, regional cooperation should move ahead based on the timing, features, and region of the parties concerned. To this end, a common vision for regional cooperation should be shared, cooperative parties in the area of the CESB surrounding NEAR should be integrated, identification of sustainable cooperative tasks and mutually complimentary cooperative activities should be sought, phased-in cooperative expansion should be initiated, institutional foundations should be built, and joint efforts to encourage North Korea to open and make reforms should be made. In particular, in order for Gyeongbuk Province to develop, government policy initiatives should be formulated to move ahead with the establishment of an energy community and a green tourism environment in the areas of the CESB surrounding the East Sea, as well as projects involving maritime resources development, environmentally-friendly fishery resources development, and infrastructure to be built over a wide area in the East Sea.
This study, which is based on a green growth strategy, came up with several preconditions for the promotion and success of regional cooperation between and among the CESB countries. This study stresses the importance of natural resources in the region from a green growth perspective, emphasizes the need to implement projects in the order of likelihood of success, and recommends that long-term projects be distinguished from short-term ones. Local governments should draft administrative strategies, while central governments should provide institutional support. Also, decisions on investment should be based on whether the investment could produce substantial results. Also, an investment strategy which utilizes the existing infrastructure of ports, railroads and airports is required.
The CESB countries form a region in which complementary resources such as undervalued green resources, cheap land prices appealing to new investors, able labor forces, technologies, and capital coexist. The CESB could surely rise as a regional economic bloc which leads the global economy in the 21st century if the potential for green growth is well realized.