EDITORIAL
Four years have passed since our Journal saw the light of day. This time, I am especially
happy to publish Volume 4, Number 2 because, in August, the JEAIL has been listed at
the Social Science Citation Index (SSCI). In the field of international law, we are finally
evaluated as one of the most prestigious global academic journals. This great
achievement grants not only scholastic privileges, but also heavy responsibility to the
Journal. All the editorial members take to heart the Journals mission to promote global
discourse on East Asia in the 21st century. Initially, the Journal will try its best to totally
overcome the imperialism remaining in our mind and frequently haunting this region
with violence. The JEAIL will then design a grand roadmap for One Asia.It will be
the path to realizing a lofty idea of an East Asian framework for fundamental peace
through international legal principles with tolerance and harmonization. We believe
that real knowledge integrates human experiences.
Volume 4, Number 2 publishes top-tier articles with creative, provocative and
contemporary ideas. The Issue Focus contains four papers under the topic, Outer Space
Development and International Law. Professor Yan Ling from China discusses the
highly political question of outer space weaponization, while Mr. Yu Takeuchi from
Japan tackles a technical problem of space traffic management. Two female authors
from Thailand, Lalin K. and Duangden N. try to identify the liability regime of
international space law, comparing it to that of international environmental law. Finally,
Professor Yun Zhao from Hong Kong proposes to establish a space law center in Asia.
As a leading article, Mr. Zezen Mutaqin writes a paper deeply analyzing a source of
customary law, Adat, of traditional Indonesian society in relation to European
colonialism. This writing focuses on the academic attainments of Professor Van
Vollenhoven in Leiden. His paper utilizes a methodological approach comprising
international with comparative law, that would be vital to understanding the initial
stages of the East Asian encounter with the westerners with gun as well as the European
law of nations in the early colonial period. In the Notes & Comments section, Professor
Michael Sheng-ti Gau analyzes the maritime delimitation question in the East China
Sea. Although there have been other articles on this topic, the Taiwanese perspective is
unusual. His legal analyses are well intermingled with the precise maps he presents in
the paper. This pragmatic effort makes the writing valuable both academically and
practically. Professor Seryon Lee then discusses the reformation of the UN Security
Council. The Security Council reform is such a critical problem in contemporary global
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