Graduate School of Asia-Pacific StudiesWaseda University

Wolfgang Gaston Friedmann made a distinction between the international law of coexistence and the international law of cooperation in his monograph, The Changing Structure of International Law, published in 1964. As almost sixty years have passed since then, the main roles of international law, including the law of the sea, have not changed. This presentation highlights these two functions of the law of the sea in East Asia, focusing on the contemporary hot issues in the region; dredging activities conducted by the Chinese vessels as an example to expect that the law of the sea of coexistence should play an important role, and the new framework of the fishery subsidies in the WTO as an example of the law of the sea of cooperation.