UNCLOS expands U.S. sovereignty by 4.1 million miles
While the Convention appears to be a widely supported agreement, it has failed to receive consent of the Senate. The opposition has focused mainly on a few “primarily ideological, objections to the Convention so as to take advantage of several procedural customs within the Senate . . . .”102 The most often cited argument against ratifying the Convention involves the surrender of U.S. sovereignty. However, as noted in section III, the Convention actually expands the United States sovereignty rights. It grants the United States exclusive rights to a twelve-mile territorial sea, a 200-mile EEZ, and finally a possibility to extend its continental shelf up to 350 miles.103 This brings an additional 4.1 million miles2 of ocean under American jurisdiction.
Quicktabs: Evidence
Arguments
Related argument(s) where this quote is used.
-
The area of resource jurisdiction the U.S. would gain legal status to by ratifying the treaty is approximately equal to that of the continental United States and exceeds the area of the Louisiana Purchase, the purchase of Alaska or any other addition to U.S. sovereignty in history.
Keywords:Related Quotes:- U.S. can extend sovereignty by 200,000 square miles by ratifying UNCLOS
- U.S. gain in sovereignty over territory is greatest among all parties due to its extensive coastlines
- US accession to UNCLOS would greatly increase territory under its sovereign control
- UNCLOS is not a transfer of either wealth or technology but a gain of resource jurisdiction the size of the Louisiana Purchase
- UNCLOS expands U.S. sovereignty by 4.1 million miles
Parent Arguments:Supporting Arguments: