Conference discusses Asia's interest in the Arctic

In a first-ever conference on Asia's interest in the Arctic organised at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) here, issues relating to law, governance, navigation and indigenous rights were discussed.

The conference 'The Geopolitics of the Arctic: Commerce, Governance and Policy' was held at a time when five Asian countries have recently got Permanent Observer status in the Arctic Council - China, India, Japan, South Korea and Singapore, said a statement Wednesday.

The two-day conference was organised by IDSA Sep 23-24, in cooperation with three Norwegian research institutes - Fridtjof Nansen Institute, the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies and Peace Research Institute Oslo, it said.

The conference is part of the three-year AsiArctic project and aims at contributing relevant knowledge on the Asian countries' interest in the Arctic through an integrated research effort, combining expertise on international relations, Asia country expertise, energy strategies, shipping interests, security policy, management of marine living resources, environmental challenges in the high north.

IT also aims to to assess how the emergence of Asian countries as key global players will impact governance structures and the balance of power in the Arctic, the statement said.