Observer States in Arctic Governance

Dr. Nong Hong is the Executive Director and Senior Fellow of Institute for China–America Studies. She holds a PhD of interdisciplinary study of international law and international relations from the University of Alberta, Canada and held a Postdoctoral Fellowship in the University’s China Institute. She was ITLOS-Nippon Fellow for International Dispute Settlement and Visiting Fellow at Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security, the Center of Oceans Law and Policy, University of Virginia, and at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law. She is concurrently a senior fellow with the National Institute for South China Sea Studies.

Her research takes an interdisciplinary approach to examining international relations and international law, with focus on International Relations and Comparative Politics in general; ocean governance in East Asia and the Arctic; law of the sea; international security, particularly non-traditional security; and international dispute settlement and conflict resolution. Her selected monographs include US and China Global Maritime Relations (Routledge, 2024), China’s Role in the Arctic: Observing and Being Observed (London and New York: Routeldge, 2020), UNCLOS and Ocean Dispute Settlement: Law and Politics in the South China Sea (Routledge, 2012).  

Sakiko Hataya is a Research Fellow at the Ocean Policy Research Institute of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation (Japan), where she is responsible for Arctic-related projects. Her academic specialization is international law, and her research interests focus on Japan’s engagement with the Arctic Council, Japan’s Arctic policy, and the Northern Sea Route.

Marco Volpe is a doctoral candidate at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Lapland, and a visiting researcher at the Arctic Centre in Rovaniemi, working within the Arctic International Relations Team. His research focuses on China’s Polar Science Diplomacy, examining how scientific activity shapes policy, influence, and international cooperation in the polar regions. He lectures on Arctic Geopolitics at both the University of Lapland and the University of Milan, serves as an editor for the Italian journal Il Polo, as a contributor for Osservatorio Artico and is part of the organising team of the Inter-Polar Dialogue Conference held biennially in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Over the past two years, Marco has conducted extensive fieldwork across the Arctic and East Asia, including research stays in China and South Korea. These experiences have allowed him to observe first-hand how scientific infrastructures, research stations, and international collaborations operate on the ground, enriching his analysis of China’s evolving role in polar governance. His most recent publication, “China’s Arctic Policy: How Scientific Research Interplays with Arctic Governance,” in Arctic Policies of Non-Arctic States (2025) (eds. Dervovic, Kirchner, and Ulatowski), explores how China’s expanding scientific presence in the Arctic is gradually strengthening its role within evolving governance structures.

Jihoon Jeong is Senior Administrative Associate of the Office of Global Cooperation at the Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI), where he also serves as Secretary General of the Korea Arctic Research Consortium (KoARC). A political scientist by training, he practices science diplomacy in polar affairs, representing Korea in government delegations for the Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries Agreement (CAOFA), high-level bilateral consultations with Arctic countries, and other international meetings. Jihoon’s professional and academic interests include science diplomacy in the Arctic, science-policy linkage, knowledge co-production, and supporting early-career polar researchers. His contributions to polar research governance have been recognized with the Minister’s Commendation from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (2020, 2025). He holds an M.A. and B.A. in Political Science from Yonsei University, Republic of Korea.

Dr. Xiang Gao is a senior research fellow at the Ocean Policy Research Institute (OPRI) of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation (SPF). She received her PhD in international public policy from Osaka University. At OPRI/SPF, the research projects in which she has participated and taken responsibility cover areas such as integrated coastal management in Japan, regional ocean governance, and Sino-Japanese maritime cooperation. Her recent research interests are in the area of ocean governance in East Asia, with focus on the construction of regional cooperation network. She has also conducted research activities as an adjunct researcher at Institute of East Asia International Relations of the Organization for Regional and Inter-regional studies at Waseda University (2023-2025).

Agostino Pinna, as the Special Envoy, follows the work of the Arctic Council, in which Italy participates as an Observer, leading the Italian delegation on the occasion of the Senior Officials Meetings (SOM), as well as other international and national events concerning the Arctic. The Envoy chairs the Coordination Table on the Italian presence in the Arctic, which involves the participation of Public Administrations, research institutions and Italian companies that are engaged in that region, ensuring any appropriate synergy between the actors involved, both for the activities of the Arctic Council and for any other initiative useful for strengthening the Italian presence in the region. In addition, he chairs the Scientific Committee for the Arctic (Comitato Scientifico per l’Artico – CSA) with the task of developing the strategic lines of the Arctic Research Programme (Progamma di Richerche in Artico – PRA).