{"id":1942,"date":"2026-06-14T16:39:52","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T08:39:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ukm.my\/sakuraya\/?page_id=1942"},"modified":"2026-06-14T16:39:57","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T08:39:57","slug":"empowering-the-21st-century-look-east-policy-lep-malaysia-japan-cooperation-strategies-towards-full-membership-in-the-antarctic-treaty-system-ats-and-the-arctic-council","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.ukm.my\/sakuraya\/empowering-the-21st-century-look-east-policy-lep-malaysia-japan-cooperation-strategies-towards-full-membership-in-the-antarctic-treaty-system-ats-and-the-arctic-council\/","title":{"rendered":"Empowering the 21st-Century Look East Policy (LEP): Malaysia\u2013Japan Cooperation Strategies Towards Full Membership in the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) and the Arctic Council"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"1942\" class=\"elementor elementor-1942\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-75695bb7 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"75695bb7\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-58a89433 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"58a89433\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Empowering the 21st-Century Look East Policy (LEP): Malaysia\u2013Japan Cooperation Strategies Towards Full Membership in the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) and the Arctic Council<span style=\"font-family: Roboto, sans-serif;font-size: 40px;font-weight: 600\"><\/span><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1cd5e9a5 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"1cd5e9a5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Shafiqah binti Nurus Sham<span style=\"font-family: Roboto, sans-serif;font-size: 25px;font-style: italic;font-weight: 600\"><\/span><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2265f205 elementor-widget-divider--view-line elementor-widget elementor-widget-divider\" data-id=\"2265f205\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"divider.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-divider\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-divider-separator\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1484f5cc e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"1484f5cc\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-15a665e1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"15a665e1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Malaysia\u2019s aspiration to transition from a Non-Consultative Party to a full Consultative Member within the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) and to secure a strategic foothold in the Arctic Council faces critical bottlenecks, primarily due to the strict prerequisite of &#8220;substantial scientific research&#8221; and a lack of independent polar logistics. This study addresses this significant policy and operational gap by examining how Malaysia can strategically leverage its historical Look East Policy (LEP) to forge a specialized polar diplomacy partnership with Japan. Japan, an original Consultative Party to the ATS since 1956 and an Official Observer to the Arctic Council since 2013, possesses sophisticated polar infrastructures, including the National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR) and advanced icebreaking capabilities.<\/p><p>Employing a qualitative research design, this study utilizes document analysis of contemporary polar policies and semi-structured, in-depth interviews with key stakeholders from Malaysia\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Wisma Putra), the Sultan Mizan Antarctic Research Foundation (YPASM), and Japanese diplomatic and scientific attaches. The thematic analysis focuses on identifying actionable strategies for co-sharing polar research stations, establishing &#8220;ice-sharing&#8221; logistical quotas on Japanese vessels, and aligning bilateral geopolitical interests regarding new maritime routes, such as the Northern Sea Route (NSR).<\/p><p>The primary output of this research is the formulation of the **&#8221;Polar-EAP Framework&#8221;** (Polar Look East Policy), a novel policy blueprint designed to modernize Malaysia\u2019s foreign policy architecture. By bridging the scientific and diplomatic divide through Japanese mentorship, this study provides a concrete roadmap for Malaysia to achieve voting rights in global polar governance. Ultimately, this research contributes to the scarce literature on Southeast Asian polar diplomacy, demonstrating how middle-power states can utilize science diplomacy to break geopolitical barriers in the global commons.<\/p><p>Keywords: Look East Policy, Antarctic Treaty System, Arctic Council, Polar Governance, Science Diplomacy, Malaysia\u2013Japan Relations.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Empowering the 21st-Century Look East Policy (LEP): Malaysia\u2013Japan Cooperation Strategies Towards Full Membership in the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) and the Arctic Council Shafiqah binti Nurus Sham Malaysia\u2019s aspiration to transition from a Non-Consultative Party to a full Consultative Member within the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) and to secure a strategic foothold in the Arctic [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"elementor_header_footer","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1942","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ukm.my\/sakuraya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1942","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ukm.my\/sakuraya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ukm.my\/sakuraya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ukm.my\/sakuraya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ukm.my\/sakuraya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1942"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.ukm.my\/sakuraya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1942\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1952,"href":"https:\/\/www.ukm.my\/sakuraya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1942\/revisions\/1952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ukm.my\/sakuraya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1942"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}