In Geopolitics Today: Monday, March 6th
South Korea Offers Plan to End Wartime Labour Dispute with Japan, UN Treaty Allocates 30% of High Seas as Marine Protected Areas, and other stories.
South Korea Offers Plan to End Wartime Labour Dispute with Japan
South Korea has announced its intention to compensate Korean laborers who were forced to work for Japanese companies during World War II. Foreign Minister Park Jin said that a government foundation will compensate 15 victims who won legal cases against Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Nippon Steel in 2018, and the fund will be set up using donations from the private sector.
The neighbors have been at loggerheads for decades over several issues stemming from Japan's 35-year occupation of the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945, including the so-called comfort women who worked in Japanese military brothels during the war. The top South Korean diplomat faced tough questions from local journalists, including one inquiring as to whether the government yielded too much to Japan. Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said that he “appreciates” the South Korean government's announcement, seeing it as crucial to “help restore Japan-South Korea relations to a healthy state” after decades of cold relations.
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UN Treaty Allocates 30% of High Seas as Marine Protected Areas
After two weeks of lengthy negotiations at the United Nations, one hundred and ninety-three countries have reportedly reached an agreement to the UN High Seas Treaty. The United Nations High Seas Treaty is an instrument of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) that proposes to allocate 30% of the high seas, as marine protected areas (MPAs). The negotiators have plans to organize periodic conferences to discuss the implementation of the treaty.
The treaty is built upon previous agreements from the 1990s regarding migratory fishing stocks and seabed mining. The significance of this agreement is that it aims to create the first comprehensive governance structure for the high seas, which have been under negotiation for two decades. However, the treaty has not yet been ratified or put into practice. In addition, there is a lack of consensus on the extent of protection in MPAs concerning activities such as shipping and fishing, which could result in contentious discussions, especially in areas that are traditional shipping routes or fishing grounds for various countries.
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Iran to Provide the IAEA Access to Undeclared Nuclear Materials
Iran has agreed to provide the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) with more information and access to undisclosed nuclear materials at three sites that have been under investigation since 2019. Additionally, Iran has allowed the reinstallation of the IAEA's extra nuclear monitoring equipment, which was deactivated in 2022.
This agreement is a significant step forward in the relationship between Iran and the IAEA after several months of tension. While the reinstallation of monitoring cameras will alleviate some of the concerns regarding the uranium enrichment of up to 84% discovered by the IAEA in January 2023, the crisis will continue to escalate as Iran accumulates more highly enriched uranium. Iran's objective is likely to prevent the IAEA from formally condemning it at the board of governors meeting on March 6.
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Russia Establishes Visa-Free Travel Agreements
Russia's Foreign Ministry has announced that Russia is establishing intergovernmental agreements on visa-free travel with 11 countries, including Gulf states Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman, as well as the Bahamas, Barbados, Haiti, Zambia, Malaysia, Mexico, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Russia is also preparing agreements to simplify visa exchanges with six more countries, including Syria, according to Deputy Foreign Minister Yevgeny Ivanov. The agreements are a 'two-way street' and the pace of signing will depend equally on Russia and its partners, noted the senior diplomat. Such policies have resulted in a high influx of Russian investment in the Gulf region, contributing to the region’s economic gains during a global downturn.
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Italy and the UAE Adopt Declaration on Strategic Partnership
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan agreed to boost their countries' bilateral ties, with a focus on energy and defense, and to establish a strategic partnership during their meeting in Abu Dhabi.
The meeting resulted in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between ADNOC and the Italian energy group Eni to strengthen cooperation in the field of emissions reduction, new energy technologies and low-carbon solutions. Additionally, a Declaration of Intent was signed to enhance cooperation within the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP28) and climate action. The strategic partnership aims to expand and deepen the horizons of cooperation in various areas of mutual strategic interest between the two countries.