U.S. non-participation in UNCLOS increases risks of military confrontation over use of ECS resources

With nearly one-third of the world's hydrocarbons produced offshore, it is astounding that UNCLOS opponents continue to sit idly by and ignore the nation's need to access the US ECS. Opponents profess that the continued projection of force, a strong Navy, and a reliance on customary international law, however misguided, are sufficient for protecting and promoting US maritime interests.¹⁹⁹ Even accepting for a moment the supposition that between the use of force and the application of rule-based diplomacy, the use of force will prevail; this presumption underlies a striking perplexity: does the United States want to continue operating as a nation dependent on military power in order to facilitate resolution of every maritime conflict? Is the cost of a continued preference for force over law worth the consequences of an actual military conflict arising? It is undeniable that the failure to join UNCLOS puts the United States at greater risk of a military confrontation arising with “. . . others who are interpreting customary international law to their benefit.”²⁰⁰