U.S. accession to UNCLOS will enable it to take an active role in shaping future of International Seabed Authority
By ratifying the treaty, the U.S. will not instantaneously regain its former influence, but it will be a huge step in the right direction compared to its static approach for the past three decades.187 Upon ratification, the U.S. will first regain its seat on the ISA’s Council.188 In addition, the U.S. will gain “important veto rights over distribution of any future revenues from deep seabed exploitation to national liberation groups.”189
Not only will the U.S. regain a seat on the ISA’s Council, but also it will have the ability to participate in the elections of judges for the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea,190 members of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS),191 and other arms of the ISA.192 This is a critical opportunity for the U.S. to place its own representatives in key areas of the ISA to help restore U.S. presence in vital matters concerning the Area.193 Furthermore, by reasserting itself as an authoritative component in the ISA, the U.S. will be better able to sway other nations in the issuing of decisions by the ISA.194 By taking this route versus obtaining a “veto” power over all ISA decisions, the U.S. will be more respected by Member States rather than being seen as a haughty and stubborn Western power as characterized by Molitor.195