Public Maritime Law in Asia: Why the Region Now Sets the Maritime Agenda
Asia carries the majority of the world's seaborne trade, builds most of its ships and supplies a large share of the world's seafarers. Yet the public law that governs safety, the marine environment and crew welfare across the region is spread across very different national systems. Public Maritime Law in Asia (T.M.C. Asser Press, 2026), edited by Junghwan Choi, draws that fragmented picture into a single comparative volume — and it arrives at a decisive moment for maritime regulation.
A region at the centre of global maritime governance
The International Maritime Organization's Net-Zero Framework — the first binding global regime to combine emissions limits with carbon pricing for shipping — was approved in principle in 2025, but its formal adoption vote was deferred and is now expected in late 2026. Asian states sit at the heart of those negotiations: Singapore, China, Japan and South Korea are among the world's largest flag, shipbuilding and port nations, and their domestic legislation will shape how any global standard is implemented in practice. Reading the region's public maritime law is no longer a specialist niche — it is central to anticipating where the sector is heading.
Four themes, examined jurisdiction by jurisdiction
The book is organised into four parts — public maritime legislation, maritime safety, prevention of vessel-source pollution, and seafarer rights — and works through them with country-specific studies rather than broad generalisation.
- Legislation, compared. Side-by-side treatment of the public maritime legislation of South Korea, China and Japan, anchored by a study of the origins and evolution of admiralty itself.
- Safety, through real cases. Seaworthiness reporting duties, car-ferry safety in South Korea and Northeast China, and ship collision under Chinese maritime law analysed through legislation and judicial precedent.
- Pollution and protected waters. Marine garbage and plastic-waste management, marine protected areas, and the case for designating the Yellow Sea as a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA) — themes that mirror the IMO's own current work on marine plastic litter and new PSSA designations.
- Seafarer rights. Crew management in China, reform of the Japanese Seafarers' Act, a Vietnam–Korea comparison of employment agreements, and a review of the STCW Convention following the latest IMO session.
Why it matters now
As decarbonisation, marine-environment rules and seafarer-welfare standards tighten in parallel, the value of a single authoritative regional reference rises. Where international frameworks set the direction, it is national legislation and case law — exactly what this volume documents — that determines how rules bite at the quay and in the courts. For institutions tracking the maritime transition, the Asian dimension is indispensable.
Who it is for
This is a reference for academic and law libraries building maritime and Asian-jurisdiction collections, for regulators and policymakers, and for maritime-law practitioners and shipping professionals who need authoritative regional analysis in one place. Explore more in our Law collection.
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Q&A
Q: What is Public Maritime Law in Asia about?
A: It is a 2026 scholarly volume edited by Junghwan Choi (T.M.C. Asser Press) examining public maritime legislation, maritime safety, prevention of vessel-source pollution and seafarer rights across Asian jurisdictions, including South Korea, China, Japan, Vietnam, Mongolia and Singapore.
Q: How does the book relate to the IMO Net-Zero Framework and maritime decarbonisation?
A: Although it is not limited to climate measures, its analysis of national legislation, marine-environment protection and pollution prevention supplies the jurisdictional context for how global rules such as the IMO Net-Zero Framework — expected to face an adoption vote in late 2026 — would be implemented across major Asian shipping states.
Q: Which countries' maritime law does it cover?
A: It offers country-specific analysis of South Korea, China and Japan, with comparative material on Vietnam, Mongolia, Singapore and other Asian jurisdictions.
Q: Is it suitable for law libraries and regulators?
A: Yes. It is aimed at academic and law libraries, regulators, policymakers, maritime-law practitioners and shipping professionals seeking authoritative regional analysis.
Q: Where can I buy Public Maritime Law in Asia?
A: It is available now from CLNZ Books at clnzbooks.com, with worldwide courier delivery and payment by credit card or PayPal. Order it here on CLNZ Books.
About CLNZ Books. CLNZ Books is an academic and professional bookseller based in Auckland, New Zealand, serving institutions and professionals worldwide. We curate legal, economic, energy and medical titles and source directly from leading publishers, with worldwide courier delivery and payment by credit card or PayPal.