U.S. dealing with over 100 threats to our navigational freedoms that could be resolved under UNCLOS

[MYTH]: U.S. adherence to the Convention is not necessary because navigational freedoms are not threatened (and the only guarantee of free passage on the seas is the power of the U.S. Navy).¹⁵Sink the Law of the Sea Treaty  — Bandow, Doug. — Cato Institute — Mar 15, 2004 [ More ]

But our navigational freedoms are indeed threatened. There are currently more than a hundred illegal, excessive claims affecting vital navigational and overflight rights and freedoms. The United States has utilized diplomatic and operational challenges to resist the excessive maritime claims of other countries that interfere with U.S. navigational rights as reflected in the Convention. But these operations entail a certain amount of risk—for example, the Black Sea bumping incident with the former Soviet Union in 1988. Being a party to the Convention would significantly enhance our efforts to roll back these claims by, among other things, putting the United States in a far stronger position to assert its rights and affording additional methods of resolving conflict.