Search: UNCLOS
06 Feb For the First Time, U.S. Says China’s South China Sea Nine Dash Line is Inconsistent with International Law
2. The UNCLOS is not the only international law regime which should be respected in the SCS, actually the international law also include custom international law which exists long before the adoption of the UNCLOS. In 1940s and the following decades, the Nine Dash Line was there and Chinese governments made the same claims according to the international law at that time without resort to the EEZs or the so-called land features. The sovereignty to the land territories and waters in the nine Dash Line is not based on the...29 Aug Draft Republican Party Platform Opposes Law of the Sea Treaty
...of American sovereignty, and we oppose any form of U.N. Global Tax. Unlike Josh Keating, I don’t read this platform as “black helicopter” stuff. I think there are reasonable policy arguments against all of the above treaties, especially UNCLOS. I do agree, though, that this might herald an important policy shift. A majority of the GOP has previously supported US ratification of UNCLOS, but it looks like UNCLOS opposition is now going to be in the GOP mainstream. And that means that US ratification of UNCLOS looks even more unlikely....19 Sep What Are the U.S. Objections to the Law of the Sea Treaty?
...are not unreasonable, even if they are not always completely persuasive. That said, they can still be pretty easily rebutted. Here is an account of Utah Senator Mike Lee’s speech recently outlining his (and most conservatives’) objections to ratifying the treaty. According to the article, Sen. Lee has three main objections. 1) UNCLOS creates a “tax” on U.S. development of deep seabeds, by requiring contributions to the International Seabed Authority. 2) UNCLOS has, as key parties, many regimes hostile to the U.S., and state sponsors of terrorism. They would be...04 Jun Comparing Obama and Bush’s Treaty Priorities
Last month, the Obama Administration informed the Senate of its treaty priorities via a letter from the State Department (you can access it here). The letter lists 17 treaties for which the Administration seeks Senate advice and consent “at this time,” including (as predicted here and here) CTBT, CEDAW, and UNCLOS. It also lists 12 treaties “on which the Administration does not seek Senate action at this time,” including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the American Convention on Human Rights, and the Convention on Biological Diversity...28 May Law of the Sea Symposium: Search and Rescue Operations at Sea – Who is in Charge? Who is Responsible?
...(UNCLOS)). This core obligation under both treaty law (see also the 1974 Convention on the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS Convention), the 1979 Search and Rescue Convention (SAR Convention) and the 1989 International Convention on Salvage) and customary law applies in any maritime zone and in relation to any activity there performed. While implementing this duty states can either perform directly the search and rescue (SAR) operations, namely through their own SAR services, or ask a vessel, which is located in the proximity of the endangered persons, be it...30 Jul Touchy, Touchy. What China’s Sensitivity About the Philippines Arbitration Reveals About the Strength of Its Legal Position
...entitled to exclude any third-party compulsory settlement.” I am sympathetic to China’s position that compulsory arbitration is not the way to go here, but as a legal matter, their views are hard to understand. The UNCLOS does NOT give China the right to exclude any “third-party compulsory settlement.” It does the opposite, and allows very limited exceptions to compulsory dispute resolution which may or may not apply here. Furthermore, as numerous commentators have explained but which China continues to ignore, Article 288 of UNCLOS plainly gives the UNCLOS arbitral tribunal...
07 Nov The Persisting Tragedy in the Mediterranean and What Stands in the Way of the Shipmaster’s Duty to Render Assistance
...Render Assistance The duty to render assistance to persons in distress at sea is a long-standing rule of international law. The same has been codified in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), 1982 and complemented by IMO instruments such as the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), 1974 and the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue (SAR), 1979. The UNCLOS further mandates States Parties to place this duty on masters of ships flying their flags. Article 98(1) of the UNCLOS...