Dear Reader

After spending most of human history out of sight to all but a small number of indigenous peoples, the Arctic has emerged in recent years a major new venue of resource extraction, including oil and natural gas and numerous valuable minerals; an increasingly important shipping route; and a burgeoning arena of geopolitical contest, among other things. for most people, though, the Arctic represents an unwelcome sign of the effects of climate change, with the region widely seen as the most visible indicator of global warming. to be sure, it is that, but it is also much more.

for almost a decade, the north pacific Arctic Conference (npac) has gathered the world’s leading experts on the Arctic to shepherd the growing body of knowledge about this frozen region and how the changes that it is experiencing are marshalling a growing number of nations to sit up and take notice. they include China, Japan and south Korea, as well as traditional Arctic players such as russia, the United states, Canada and others.

for the cover package of this issue of Global Asia, Oran Young, one of the world’s leading figures in research on the Arctic, has served as guest editor, working with the Korean Maritime institute to assemble a wide range of articles by Arctic specialists that illuminate the complexity and relevance of the region’s issues for the rest of the world. in putting together this cover package, prof. Young and his npac colleagues wish to dedicate the package to prof. Yoon Hyung Kim, who retired in september as a senior fellow at the east West Center and chair of the npac steering committee. “Kim has provided the essential glue making npac a success since its launch in 2011,” writes Young.

elsewhere in this issue of Global Asia, our debate section looks at the possible impact on indonesian politics of the return from self-exile in saudi Arabia of islamist firebrand rizieq shihab, whose islamic defenders front could prove to be a thorn in the side of indonesian president Joko Widodo.

in our features section, we examine whether Japan’s new prime minister, Yoshihide suga, will reawaken the reformist movement in the country or merely continue the policies of the past; the likelihood that cryptocurrencies will become a new battleground in Us-china rivalry; and the lessons that can be learned from Mongolia in the quest to reinvigorate the concept of nuclearweapon-free zones.

in our in focus section, we look at the challenges in Asia facing the incoming administration of Us president-elect Joseph Biden, and include an essay examining the opportunities for sino-american co-operation on climate change, despite the damage to bilateral relations under outgoing Us president donald trump. in our March issue, we will look more closely at expectations that Asians have of Biden’s presidency.

Our Book reviews section, as always, highlights notable recent works on Asia.