| Summary/Abstract |
Russian policy in Asia and in the Arctic share significantly overlapping elements.
One such element is the precedent set when the UN awarded the Sea of Okhotsk
to Moscow in 2013. Moscow’s subsequent conduct in closing that sea to foreign
shipping and creating a naval bastion there suggest that it may well do the same
should part or all of its very expansive claim to the Arctic zone off its territory
be recognized by the UN. Inasmuch as Russia has now militarized the Sea of
Okhotsk on the heels of the UN award and added thereby innumerable obstacles
to rapprochement with Japan while also militarizing the area still further, the
likelihood of an Arctic bastion, closed zone, and subsequent militarization cannot
be excluded. Meanwhile, in Asia, Russia will continue to remain at odds with Japan
and see much of Asia as composed of hostile and threatening powers that can only
be dealt with in a context of militarization.
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