Abstract
The contradictory integrity of globalization and regionalization processes in the modern world has been embodied in the formation of specific spatial areas – multiscale cross-border regions, whose functioning and development are determined both by the interactions between neighboring countries and by the totality of external geopolitical and geoeconomic circumstances. The article is devoted to the factors and features of cross-border processes and socio-economic development within one of the largest and most dynamic structures of modern Eurasia – the Greater Macro-Region of East Asia, embracing the northeastern and eastern territories of Russia, eastern China, Japan, and both Korean republics, Vietnam, and a number of other countries facing the seas of the northwestern Pacific. The integrity of this vast and very heterogeneous macro-region ranging from Chukotka to the Philippine Sea is based on relatively stable cross-border relations, which, in turn, are one of the determinants of these territories’ development. The role of geographical prerequisites (geographical location, climatic conditions, natural resources of land and sea) and geopolitical factors (geopolitical location and crossborder features) in the long-term development of this macro-region is assessed. It is shown that both favorable and negative prerequisites are associated with the cross-border nature of the integrated geosystems, including the marine ecosystems. Various types of cross-border regions with two-, three-, and four-link territorial segments belonging to different countries have been identified. The geopolitical potential of countries and regions is assessed, and the zones of geopolitical tension are revealed.
Highlights
East Asia is a large, meridionally extended macro-region situated at the junction of the largest continent (Eurasia) and two oceans
Northeast Asia is identified as a composition of Northeast China, the Russian Far East, DPRK, Republic of Korea and Japan (Pacific Russia 2017; Tulokhonov 2014; Womarck Brantly 2014)
The main geographical and geopolitical factors The geographical factors exerting a significant influence on the long-term development of the macro-region include their geographical and economic-geographical positions, the effect of the natural-climatic conditions due to their spatial differentiation, as well as a natural-resource potential in the form of the territorial and aqua-territorial combinations of natural resources
Summary
East Asia is a large, meridionally extended macro-region situated at the junction of the largest continent (Eurasia) and two oceans (the Arctic and the Pacific). Taking into account similarity of geographical positions, we included the territorial subjects of the Russian Federation (RF) adjacent to the Pacific Ocean, the eastern portions of China, and all countries entering the seas and the North Pacific in East Asia. This macro-region extends over nearly eight thousand kilometers from north to south (Fig. 1). The dynamics of the separate parts and structures of this space are determined in many respects by the effect of the geographical and geopolitical factors These factors have different impacts on the long-term development of the countries and regions of East Asia. The task of this paper is to make an aggregated assessment of the geographical and geopolitical factors and their role in the long-term development of the macro-region
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