amhist.ist.unomaha.edu

When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, the world was faced with a new meaning of borders. Arguably, the fall of the Berlin Wall appeared to tell us that borders were no longer required. For the first time, the expression “borderless world” was used. It was also supported by similar ideas such as globalization, free trade, etc. Our world seems to be borderless, where the exchange of goods and services is much easier than before. Does it mean that borders are no longer important?

Taken from Washington Post

static.guim.co.uk

A joint American-Canadian cruise exploring the frigid Arctic Ocean has mapped broad swaths of the extended continental shelf for the first time, scientists reported Thursday.

While the researchers divulged few details, saying it will take time to analyze the data, they said they had discovered a massive seamount and what could be an extinct underwater volcano during the 41-day mission.

Taken from Japan Times

Japan's CS proposal

The U.N. commission on seabed claims said Friday that a sub-panel has begun to examine Japan’s bid to extend its continental shelf in the western Pacific to a gigantic resource-rich seabed.

Last November, Japan filed an application with the U.N. Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, asking it to recognize the extended area as Japan’s continental shelf, which would give it priority over the exploitation of seabed resources.

Taken from Croatian Times

Croatia and Slovenia have finally reached agreement on continuation of Croatia’s EU accession negotiations. The two countries agreed to continue negotiations over their maritime-border dispute that has been blocking the opening of additional chapters in Croatia’s EU accession negotiations.

Ketika Tembok Berlin runtuh tahun 1989, dunia diingatkan akan makna baru sebuah sekat atau batas. Kejadian ini seakan mengisyaratkan bahwa sekat tidak lagi diperlukan. Untuk pertama kalinya, istilah “borderless world”, dunia tanpa sekat, diperkenalkan (Ohmae, 1990). Fenomena ini diperkuat oleh gagasan globalisasi, perdagangan bebas dan sejenisnya. Dunia memang seperti tanpa sekat, pertukaran barang dan jasa terjadi begitu mudahnya. Benarkah batas wilayah menjadi tidak penting lagi?

Di sisi lain, ada fenomena yang bertolak belakang. Indonesia dan Malaysia, misalnya masih sering bermasalah dengan batas wilayah. Terjadinya ketegangan akibat kasus Ambalat, misalnya, adalah salah satu dampak sengketa batas wilayah. Belum disepakatinya batas maritim di Laut Sulawesi adalah salah satu penyebab ketegangan tersebut. Senada dengan itu, Thailand dan Kamboja juga mengalami ketegangan yang serius akibat sengketa di daerah perbatasan yang melibatkan candi kuno. Sengketa antara Thailand dan Kamboja juga sempat mengarah pada kontak fisik yang membahayakan jiwa.