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Why Should the Offshore Industry Support Ratification of the Law of the Sea Treaty?
By Joan M. Bondareff, Of Counsel, Blank Rome LLP
Joan M. Bondareff is Of Counsel to Blank Rome LLP where she specializes in maritime and environmental law, and congressional relations. She served as Majority Counsel to the House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries and participated in several LOS negotiations. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not necessarily represent the official position of Blank Rome LLP.
A debate is quietly playing out in the U.S. Senate this year whether to take up and ratify the Law of the Sea Convention. It seems as if this Convention, negotiated by the United States, should have already been ratified, but it has not happened and this year presents the best opportunity in a long time for the U.S. to join the 154 other nations who are parties to the Convention. This article reviews the arguments that have been presented to Congress to ratify the Convention, and debunks some of the arguments presented by the opponents. In sum, the interests of the U.S., the energy industry, the maritime industry, and the fishing industry are all at stake and enhanced by U.S. approval of this longstanding and long-neglected treaty.
Background
The Law of the Sea Treaty represents the exhaustive efforts of many nations, with the United States taking the lead, to carve up the world's oceans into defined zones. This carefully created compromise allows nations to expand their territorial seas (in which sovereignty is exclusive) to 12 nautical miles, to create Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) in which they can have sovereignty over resources to 200 nautical miles, and to expand their continental shelves out to 350 miles or even farther, if certain scientific criteria are met. While delineating the outer reaches of national jurisdiction, the Treaty protects the freedom of the high seas and the rights of innocent passage of ships in the territorial sea, the right of transit passage through international straits such as the straits of Hormuz, and freedom of navigation in the EEZ. In 1983, President Reagan decided that
FOOTNOTES
2 Statement of the Honorable John D. Negroponte, Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of State, before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, September 27, 2007. 3 Statement of Negroponte at 12. 4 Treaty Doc. 103-39.
Part XI of the Convention concerning Deep Seabed Mining (DSM) did not adequately protect the interests of the United States and therefore did not sign the Convention. However, in 1983, President Reagan issued an Ocean Policy Statement announcing that the United States would accept and act in accordance with the remaining provisions of the Convention especially those pertaining to jurisdictional claims.2 Since that time, the flawed DSM provisions have been re-negotiated and modified. As Deputy Secretary of State Negroponte indicated in his testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Part XI was modified by the 1994 Implementing Agreement to overcome previous objections and ensure that the administration of DSM is based on free-market principles.3 The Bush Administration has been an active supporter of the Convention. After taking extensive testimony on the Convention, including from several opponents, on October 4, 2007, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 17-4 to support the Treaty.4 It remains an open question whether, in this shortened Congressional year, the Senate will set aside Floor time for its consideration. A handful of Senators, including Senator Vitter (R-LA), Senator Coleman (R-MN) and Senator Cornyn (R-TX), have vowed to lobby against it should the Treaty come up for a Senate vote. Freedom of Navigation, Energy Security, and National Security are at Stake in the LOS Convention Debate Following is a brief discussion of the salient points presented by the Bush Administration and industry witnesses who testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in support of U.S. ratification.
April 2008
16 MTR
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