The United States should ratify the United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea, known as the Law of the Sea Treaty. The Law of the Sea Treaty has 166 member nations and the European Union signed onto this convention, which regulates policies, jurisdictions and activities across the world's oceans.
Curiously, the United States has not ratified the treaty, even though all other Arctic nations have done so. To have no standing under this treaty leaves the U.S. vulnerable to disputes, claims against our sovereignty, and outside an effective forum for resolution. Joining this convention would ensure the freedom-of-navigation rights upon which U.S. naval forces depend for operational mobility, including counterterrorism activities.
The treaty provides a pathway for clear, rational and secure national actions as regards maritime activity in the world's oceans, including in the Arctic. Indeed, Canada, Denmark, Norway and Russia are all enjoying benefits of convention membership, variously laying claims to seabed territory, exploring for valuable resource deposits and planning the establishment of military bases. The Law of the Sea Treaty permits member nations to set exclusive economic zones out to 200 nautical miles from shore with exclusive sovereign rights. In some cases, exclusive economic zones can be extended to 350 nautical miles. Russia and China, both signers, are exerting their perceived rights aggressively.
This treaty, which has been pending in the U.S. Senate since 1994, enjoys bipartisan support and favorable reports from the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. It has the support of all six members of our Joint Chiefs of Staff. The treaty also continues with overwhelming international consensus. Alaska U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Rep. Don Young support ratification. Sen. Dan Sullivan does not.
The U.S. Arctic Research Commission estimates that our nation could lay claim to an area the size of California in the seabed off the 1,000-mile-long northern Alaska coast. By not ratifying the treaty, the U.S. is putting domestic commercial interests at a clear disadvantage for the development opportunities which exist.
In 2009, the Alaska state Legislature issued Legislative Resolve 14, which urged the United States Senate to ratify this agreement. In 2011, the Legislature, in more emphatic language, again urged the U.S. Senate to ratify this treaty (Legislative Resolve 8).
Given the extremely competitive national appetites for jurisdiction, resource extraction and military control in the Arctic maritime environment, it is imperative that the United States become a full partner with member nations, especially those with Arctic claims, to participate in cooperative actions for the many issues facing us in the Arctic region and around the world.
Tim Benintendi is an Anchorage retiree, Vietnam veteran, and a self-described supporter of strong protective measures for Alaska's Arctic region.
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