ENERGY SECURITY IN EAST ASIA

The article is devoted to the topical problem of energy security in East Asia under the context of the unfolding struggle of the major powers in this region for priority access to energy sources from Russia, the Middle East and fields in the East China and South China seas. The problems of bilateral and multilateral energy cooperation, ways of its institutionalization in the context of the prospects of the formation of a common region- wide energy space are depicted in this article.The authors note that the territorial disputes between China and Japan over the Senkaku Islands, as well as the disputes over the ownership of the Paracel Islands, which have repeatedly led the countries of East Asia to the brink of a military confrontation, have a strong natural resources background, because either there are large deposits of hydrocarbons, or there are strategically important ways of transporting oil and gas from the Middle East. The confrontation between China and Japan, the world largest economies and powerful military powers at the same time the countries with lack of oil and gas reserves and that have been experiencing a severe shortage of this strategically important for the functioning of their industry natural resources for the last two decades represents grave danger. The current military and political situation between China and Japan, characterized by the intensification of their struggle for regional leadership and often accompanied by the manifestation of force, calls for intensified efforts of the two governments to establish political cooperation and to reach compromise solutions. According to the authors, the common interests of energy security and stable development of energy cooperation in East Asia suggest the creation of responsible structural department within the existing regional integration associations that would directly deal with energy issues and would allow their depoliticization.