The Law of the Sea Convention The Convention remains a key piece of unfinished treaty business for the United States. Past Administrations (Republican and Democratic), the U.S. military, and relevant industry and other groups have all strongly supported joining the Convention. President George W. Bush argued that joining will serve the national security interest of the United States and secure U.S. sovereign rights over extensive marine areas, including the valuable natural resources they contain. As the world s major maritime power and a country with one of the longest coastlines, the United States has historically had a very strong interest in the laws that apply to the oceans. The Convention s provisions are highly favorable to: o U.S. national security interests, because navigational rights and freedoms across the globe for our ships and aircraft are vital to our country; and o U.S. economic interests, because the Convention accords to the United States extensive offshore resource rights, including exclusive rights to natural resources (e.g., fish, oil, gas) o out to 200 nm and additional rights to seabed resources (including, rare earth elements, oil and gas) beyond 200 nm in several large areas. We need to become a Party in order to fully protect our navigational rights/freedoms, economic rights, and other ocean-related interests: o The U.S. would lock in the Convention s favorable set of rules as treaty rights. While we have been relatively successful to date in relying on customary internati onal law to protect our interests, that law can change based on the practice of countries and is ultimately something we cannot control. o The U.S. would fully secure its continental shelf. The Convention s provisions are highly favorable with respect to the continental shelf beyond 200 nm. The shelf off Alaska is likely to extend more than 600 nm. However, only as a Party would we put our rights on the firmest legal footing and have access to the treaty procedure that maximizes legal certainty and international recognition of the shelf beyond 200 nm. o The U.S. would have the level of influence in the interpretation, application, and development of law of the sea rules that reflects its maritime status. As a Party, we could place U.S. nominees/designees on various Convention bodies, including those developing the rules governing access to mineral resources, including new sources of rare earth elements, in the deep seabed, and those making recommendations regarding Parties submissions on the continental shelf beyond 200 nm. o U.S. accession is a matter of geostrategic importance in the Arctic (where all other Arctic nations, including Russia, are parties and can fully secure their continental shelf rights) and the South China Sea (where China is flexing its muscles with respect to maritime claims). The oceans and the rules governing them will only increase in importance in the 21 st century, and the costs of being on the outside will increase correspondingly. We should join the Convention without delay.
The Law of the Sea Convention In Our National Security Interest The United States Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, and other U.S. Armed Forces have been consistent and strong proponents of joining the Law of the Sea Convention. Because the United States is the world s foremost maritime power, our security interests are intrinsically linked to freedom of navigation. o We have more to gain from legal certainty and public order in the world s oceans than any other country. o We need substantive rules that ensure worldwide access for military and commercial ships and aircraft. The navigational bill of rights enshrined in the Convention provides such worldwide mobility, including during wartime, all without the permission of other countries. It is a terrific deal for the United States, with rules squarely in our long-term strategic interest. Among other things, the Convention: o accords our submarines the critical right to transmit submerged through international straits; and o sets forth maximum navigational rights and freedoms for our ships/aircraft in the exclusive economic zones of other countries (out to 200 nm) and on the high seas. Becoming a Party would allow the United States to fully protect its navigational interests: o We would lock in a set of favorable rules as treaty rights; being on the outside and relying on customary international law -- which depends upon the practice of countries -- puts the legal basis for our actions outside our ultimate control. o Joining the Convention would give the United States greater credibility and legitimacy as we seek to hold others to the Convention s terms. o Joining the Convention would maximize U.S. influence in the treaty bodies that play a role in interpreting, applying, and developing the law of the sea. Becoming a Party is of increased geostrategic importance with respect to the Arctic and the South China Sea: o As the Arctic warms and opens up for navigation, resource exploitation, and other human activities, the United States needs to position itself accordingly. Admiral Roughead, Chief of Naval Operations, and Admiral Papp, Commandant of the Coast Guard, have stressed the need to be inside the Convention with respect to this region of increasingly important strategic national security interest. China is flexing its muscles in the South China Sea. Being inside the Convention would give an immediate boost to U.S. credibility and our ability to both push back against excessive maritime claims and help resolve the maritime issues there to the benefit of the United States and our regional allies and partners.
The Law of the Sea Convention Advances American Business Interests The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, American Petroleum Institute, the National Association of Manufacturers, Chamber of Shipping, International Association of Drilling Contractors, National Ocean Industries Association, and the National Fisheries Institute, among others, all publicly support U.S. accession to the Convention, as do many U.S. companies, such as AT&T, Sprint, Lockheed Martin, Level 3 Communications, and Tyco. The oceans hold vast and valuable natural resources, both living and non-living. 1 They provide a vital means by which goods are transported worldwide. And they enable critical economic activities, for example, through the laying of cables and pipelines. The Convention benefits American companies in two essential ways. First, it provides the legal certainty and predictability that businesses depend upon. Second, the Convention sets forth rules that promote and protect their interests. Specifically, the Convention: o gives coastal States an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) extending 200 nautical miles offshore, encompassing diverse ecosystems and vast natural resources such as fisheries, energy, and other minerals. The U.S. EEZ is the largest in the world, spanning over 13,000 miles of coastline and containing 3.4 million square nautical miles of ocean larger than the combined land area of all fifty states. 2 o gives coastal States sovereign rights for the purpose of exploiting and managing resources of the continental shelf, which can extend beyond 200 nautical miles if certain criteria are met. The United States is likely to have one of the world s largest continental shelves, potentially extending beyond 600 nautical miles off Alaska. o provides an internationally-recognized mechanism for U.S. companies to secure legal rights to access to minerals of the deep seabed in areas beyond national jurisdiction. o guarantees the ability to lay and maintain submarine cables and pipelines in the EEZs and on the continental shelves of other States and on the high seas. o secures the rights we need for commercial ships to export U.S. commodities and protects the tanker routes through which half of the world s oil moves. o is the foundation upon which rules for sustainable international fisheries are based. Only as a Party would the United States and its businesses reap the Convention s full economic benefits: o We would put our economic rights on the firmest legal footing, that is, treaty law. o We could take advantage of the treaty procedure that provides legal certainty and international recognition of the U.S. continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles. o We could sponsor American companies to engage in deep seabed mineral resource development. 1 Untapped reserves in the Arctic region are estimated at 90 billion barrels of oil and 1,669 trillion cubic feet of natural ga s. ( Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal: Estimates of Undiscovered Oil and Gas North of the Arctic Circle, U.S. Geological Survey.) Unclaimed deep seabed mining areas may hold over $1 trillion dollars worth of manganese, copper, nickel, and cobalt. (U.S. Chamber of Commerce Letter to Senator Reid and McConnell, May 2008.) 2 The United States is an Ocean Nation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, http://aquaculture.noaa.gov/pdf/20_eezmap.pdf
Why the United States Needs to Join the Law of the Sea Convention Now Joining the Law of the Sea Convention will create American jobs and bolster U.S. national security. That is why U.S. companies, business groups, labor unions, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Coast Guard, and a host of others support joining the Convention now. Only as a Party to the Convention can the United States fully secure its sovereign rights to the vast resources of our continental shelf beyond 200 miles from shore, an area likely to be at least 385,000 square miles nearly 1.5 times the size of Texas. The U.S. oil and gas industry knows that joining the Convention will protect the investments needed to extract those resources. While we sit on the sidelines, over 40 countries have begun the process of fully securing their own continental shelf rights. We believe that it is now time for action on the Law of the Sea [Convention]. The U.S. can no longer afford to wait to secure access to the vital resources that lie within [the U.S. extended continental shelf]. - American Petroleum Institute Accession to the Law of the Sea Convention would protect U.S. claims to the vast natural resources contained on the ocean floor. - U.S. Chamber of Commerce While this country stands by, other nations are moving ahead in perfecting rights over resources on an extended continental shelf. The United States should accede to the Law of the Sea Convention without delay to protect our national security interests: sovereignty, economy, and energy. - Admiral Robert Papp, Jr., Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard Only as a Party to the Convention can the United States sponsor U.S. companies to mine the deep seabed for valuable metals and rare earth elements. Rare earth elements essential for cell phones, flat-screen televisions, electric car batteries, and other high-tech products are currently in tight supply and produced almost exclusively by China. While we challenge China s export restrictions, we must also make it possible for U.S. companies to develop other sources of these critical materials. Joining the Convention
would allow U.S. companies to obtain secure rights to deep seabed mine sites and indisputable title to minerals recovered. While we sit on the sidelines, companies in China, India, Russia, and other Parties to the Convention are securing their rights, moving ahead with deep seabed resource exploration, and taking the lead in this emerging market. Timing is critically important if U.S. industry is to undertake exploitation of the deep seabed for valuable rare earth and other mineral resources. Other countries are already moving quickly and aggressively to secure internationally recognized rights to these resources. However, until the Senate approves the Law of the Sea Convention, as modified by the 1994 Agreement, U.S. companies cannot use this country's technological leadership to pursue, with the sponsorship of the United States Government, a leadership position in this strategically important emerging market. - Lockheed Martin Corporation Chinese, Indian, and Russian companies are exploring deep seabeds for rare earth elements and valuable metals, but the United States cannot sponsor our companies to do the same. Joining the Convention will level the playing field for American companies so they have the same rights and opportunities as their competitors. - Hillary Clinton, Secretary of State Only as a Party to the Convention can the United States best protect the navigational freedoms enshrined in the Convention and exert the level of influence that reflects our status as the world s foremost maritime power. Tensions are rising in the South China Sea. Melting ice in the Arctic is creating new risks, opportunities, and responsibilities. Locking in navigational freedoms for our military and commercial ships, which are increasingly being challenged around the globe, is essential to our national security and economy. In the ongoing tensions over rights in the South China Sea, the United States will be in a stronger position of influence by joining the Convention... Our friends and allies need our political leadership within [the Convention] to influence resolution of South China Sea disputes. - Admiral Jonathan Greenert, Chief of Naval Operations [The Convention] guarantees rights such as innocent passage through territorial seas; transit passage through, under and over international straits. The Convention has been
approved by nearly every maritime power and all the permanent members of the UN Security Council, except the United States. - Ray Mabus, Secretary of the Navy Every Arctic Nation except the United States is a party [to the Convention]. As our responsibilities continue to increase in direct proportion to the Arctic s emerging waters, it is more vital than ever that the United States accedes to the Law of the Sea Treaty. - Admiral Robert Papp, Jr., Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard Further delay serves no purpose and deprives the United States of the significant economic and national security benefits we will gain by becoming a Party to the Convention. To oppose this Convention on economic grounds requires one to believe that U.S. industries as diverse as oil and gas, fishing, shipping, seabed mining, and telecommunications do not understand how best to grow their businesses and protect their bottom lines. To oppose this Convention on national security grounds requires one to believe that the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security do not understand how best to protect U.S. national security. Now is the time to join. This material was largely prepared by the U.S. Government, July 2011