Recent News
The 208-page Law of the Sea Convention, debated since the 1930s and sealed in 1982, has stirred passions for decades in Washington. Critics in the Senate have repeatedly blocked its ratification, saying the pact would undercut U.S. sovereignty. Supporters tout the treaty as a pillar of international law and key to long-term U.S. security. The U.S. is now one of fewer than 40 countries, and the only significant power, not to have joined.
[ More ]Law professor Jeremy Rabkin argues that the Senate should "think long and hard before making the U.S. Navy answer to the U.N version of the Law of the Sea."
[ More ]John O'Sullivan argues the U.S. should steer clear of the Law of the Sea treaty as it would subject U.S. to unfavorable rulings by UNCLOS tribunals and force transfer of valuable technologies.
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The prospect of vast oil and gas reserves beneath the Arctic Ocean has prompted countries to begin evaluating exploration options to assess what's really at stake. But even as observers debate about who really owns the Arctic and will have rights to the potential cornucopia, other experts are warning that dangerous ice, extreme cold, and the risk of environmental catastrophe will pose serious barriers.
[ More ]The Arctic, known better for its polar bears and melting sea ice than its fossil fuels, may soon become a hot spot for oil—spurring an international rush to stake claims on the seafloor.
[ More ]US scientists are due to leave for the Arctic on Friday to gather key data to support a territorial claim, in the latest sign of growing international interest in the resource-rich and contested region.
[ More ]The authors, John Norton Moore and Lawrence S. Eagleburger (secretary of state under President George H.W. Bush), argue that if the Senate fails to ratify the Law of the Sea treaty, "our allies and adversaries alike will note that U.S. foreign policy has been diminished by an ideological extreme."
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The authors argue that ratifying the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea would jeopardize U.S. counterterrorism efforts by placing them under the control of unaccountable tribunals.
[ More ]Sea Service leaders want it. It has been supported by every President since—and including—Ronald Reagan. When will the Law of the Sea treaty be ratified?
[ More ]John Negroponte argues that ratification of UNCLOS is "simply the right thing to do, to support America’s national interests, and to lay an effective foundation for the use and protection of the world’s oceans for generations to come."
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