Bridging Troubled Waters: China, Japan, and Maritime Order in the East China Sea.

• Author: Bautista, Lowell
• Position: Book review

Bridging Troubled Waters: China, Japan, and Maritime Order in the East China Sea. By James Manicom. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 2014. Softcover: 266pp.

In this book, James Manicom contests the orthodox view that the strategic rivalry between China and Japan will escalate into a full-blown military conflict. The book concedes that the East China Sea will be the likely medium for Sino-Japanese military rivalry and cyclical tensions will persist; however, it makes the compelling case that cooperation will endure.

The book explores the intriguing relationship between China and Japan, which has been paradoxically characterized by deep economic interdependence, yet beleaguered by periodic tensions over their maritime disputes, lingering strategic mistrust and even brinkmanship. The book examines the origins, nature and durability of cooperation between China and Japan despite historical and existing conflicting interests between the two countries. The author interrogates an interesting question in International Relations theory on how China and Japan have avoided conflict over their maritime disputes, notwithstanding the seemingly incessant military posturing and sabre-rattling at sea and yet managed to cooperate while resisting settlement of underlying issues. The book explores this central point in depth by comparing five attempts at cooperation in the East China Sea in the areas of disputed sovereignty, fisheries management, marine surveys, and hydrocarbon resource development.

Throughout the book, Manicom makes it clear that he does not share the cynicism expressed by scholars that disputes over resource-rich maritime space are fundamentally prone to conflict. Indeed, lurking in every corner of the book is Manicom's insightful, if but slightly overarticulated, thesis that, "contrary to pessimistic assessments, the two countries have been able to cooperate on contested jurisdiction when material issues have been separate from the more symbolic aspects of their relationship" (p. 11). This is not to disparage the central empirical finding of the book, however. In fact, the simplicity of Manicom's proposition belies its innovation. The focus of the book on cooperation, while not an entirely novel approach, is quite refreshing in the study of China-Japan maritime relations. His thesis also leaves the reader cautiously optimistic, which is a rare commodity these days.

In order to support the book's provocative core insights...