For the past half century the political environment in North-East Asia has inhibited multilateral ocean management programmes. But recently, as a result of the 1994 Law of the Sea Convention and the end of the Cold War, the region has an opportunity for lasting peace. What is needed now is a framework for developing multilateral regional marine policy co-ordination. That is what this book provides. This is the first in-depth study applying international relations theory to maritime regime formation in North-East Asia, and the first book to propose detailed designs and characteristics for such regimes.