N. G. ROGOZHINA Doctor of Political Science Primakov Institute of World Economy and International Relations Keywords: East Asia, environmental problems, security, environmental policy, "green development" For East Asian countries, ensuring environmental security is directly related not so much to the threat of international conflicts caused by competition for limited natural resources and their degradation (conflicts over international water resources, competition for natural resources in the South China Sea), but rather to the prospects for achieving economic and social progress. In the end, environmental degradation becomes a drag on the economic progress of East Asian countries and leads to a loss of competitiveness of their economies focused on foreign markets, where in recent years the requirements for the environmental quality of goods and services have become tougher. The impact of environmental processes on security is assessed in different ways: traditionally-as a direct cause of internal and international conflicts, which often take the form of armed clashes. And more broadly-in the interrelation of environmental, development and security issues. In this case, the main issue becomes the destabilizing impact of the environmental crisis on the socio-economic and political development of the country, on the aggravation of internal problems that can pose a threat to national, regional and global security. Most often, the direct result of environmental degradation is a decrease in the growth of agricultural production, a general decline in economic activity, an aggravation of the problem of poverty and an increase in social disparities, political instability, ethnic and religious conflicts. With all the diversity of the countries that make up East Asia and the multiplicity of their development, it is necessary to highlight the common cause of the aggravation of their environmental problems - the development of an industrial society with its inherent attitudes t ... Read more