Search: UNCLOS
15 Mar Does the U.S. Really Need The Law of the Sea Treaty to Make Claims in the Arctic?
the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention — lays out a comprehensive set of rules governing ocean issues, including protection of marine environments. All Arctic nations except the U.S. have signed. “If this were a ball game,” one Coast Guard admiral told me, “the U.S. wouldn’t be on the field or even in the stadium.” This seems right to me, and is a compelling reason for joining UNCLOS that may overcome objections in the U.S. Senate. Having said that, if the U.S. does not join UNCLOS, it is of course...18 Jul Assessing the Fallout from the South China Sea Award
Regarding China's right to the islands within its EEZ, they are not doing anything illegal under UNCLOS. Although the dispute is real, the island building conforms to UNCLOS. China is within the limits of the 200 Nautical Mile EEZ. China-- to be clear-- is abiding by the rules it signed when ratifying UNCLOS-- what the Philippines is doing is applying a narrow reading of only the 12-nautical mile baseline, excluding an entire Chapter of UNCLOS on the EEZ which Article 46 1(b) gives China the right to the "establishment and...15 Jan Treaty Tips from the SFRC Clinton Hearing
...in lesser-known foreign affairs issues. Still, I value these hearings not simply because they give a sense of what the nominee will be like as Secretary, but also for the signals the hearings send about what topics are on the rise in terms of priority and attention for both the State Department and the SFRC. To that end, I was interested to see what treaties came up during Tuesday’s hearing. Three in particular caught my attention: (1) START extension talks; (2) the CTBT; and (3) UNCLOS. Newly-minted SFRC chair John...26 Apr China Updates its Talking Points on the Philippines Arbitration
...on is a rock, not an island within the meaning of UNCLOS Art. 121(3), and hence cannot grant China a 12 mile territorial sea even if China did have sovereignty. Since some of these rocks/islands fall within the Philippines Exclusive Economic Zone, this is not a sovereignty issue but a UNCLOS issue. I am not sure that the Philippines is right about this, but they certainly have a good case. It is also worth noting that the Chinese statement is conspicuously silent on China’s obligation under UNCLOS to at least...26 Mar Game On! ITLoS President Appoints Second Arbitrator in Philippines-China Arbitration
...China will do now. It seems likely that they will continue to ignore the arbitration and question its propriety. But China can no longer claim that the arbitration cannot proceed without China’s participation. This article from the reliably hawkish state-owned Global Times offers a pretty clear-eyed analysis, correctly noting that UNCLOS itself grants the ITLOS arbitral tribunal the power to determine its own jurisdiction, and that UNCLOS also specifies the procedure for appointing arbitrators. It also notes that China’s position is going to be somewhat more difficult, and that the...01 Jun Did the Israeli Defense Forces Commandos Commit “Piracy”? Nope.
...hard to argue that Israel committed piracy but since neither Israel nor Turkey are members to UNCLOS, maybe it would be useful to look into customary law a little more before closing the debate. Though I would be surprised if the answer was Israel committed piracy. My guess is UNCLOS reflects CIL on this regard... Ali Julian The piracy issue, as put forth in your post, is a diversion and a side show. So I am not going to even write about it. The Israeli propaganda on this case, which...16 Jul US Will Not Join the Law of the Sea Treaty (At Least Not This Year)
It’s official. US ratification of UNCLOS is dead (at least for this year). And, perhaps more significantly, the treaty was sunk by two senators, Robert Portman and Kelly Ayotte, both of whom appear to be on Republican nominee Mitt Romney’s vice-presidential short list. Their announcements, in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, brings the number of announced U.S. Senators opposing US ratification to 34. This effectively kills UNCLOS for this Congress. The joint letter by Senators Portman and Ayotte cites most of the same objections set forth ably...