Revision of U.S. Navy's freedom of navigation is continually challenged by excessive claims from Wed, 04/16/2014 - 23:38
U.S. Naval forces are continually challenged by more than 100 illegal, excessive claims around the globe that adversely affect vital navigational and over-flight rights and freedoms. Accession to UNCLOS would give the U.S. Navy more tools to help rollback these violations.
Quicktabs: Arguments
Coastal states can also be expected to want more control of their off-shore waters and airspace for domestic security reasons.67 "Military Activities in the Exclusive Economic Zone: Preventing Uncertainty and Defusing Conflict ." California Western International Law Journal. Vol. 32. (2001-2001): 253-302. [ More (4 quotes) ] As technology advances, coastal states can reasonably be expected to seek a legal regime that makes it more difficult for foreign militaries to exploit advancements in the range and accuracy of weapons and intelligence-gathering inherent in manned and unmanned aerial, surface, and underwater vehicles, as well as over-the-horizon weaponry and specialized littoral platforms.
Moreover, the nature of threats such as terrorism; weapons of mass destruction; and arms, drugs, and human-trafficking encourage coastal states to extend surveillance and control beyond their territorial seas and in some cases even into others’ EEZs.68 In the aftermath of September 11, many nations, including the U.S., have increased surveillance of their coastal areas.69
To varying degrees and through various methods, coastal states have objected to military activities in their respective EEZs through the years. Whatever their historical weaknesses and current political rivalries, coastal states continue to share important interests and continue to face what Professor Bernard Oxman calls the “territorial temptation” to expand control over their off-shore waters.70
Moreover, numerous states question the United States’ very right to enforce navigational freedoms conferred by the Convention when it is not party to it. It is likely that U.S. accession would decrease the number of state claims inconsistent with international law and also decrease the number of freedom of navigation challenges the Navy would have to conduct.
The global demands on the Navy and Coast Guard come at a time when the size of the nation’s Fleets has shrunk to unprecedented low levels. As fewer and fewer U.S. ships are available to support U.S. and coalition interests worldwide, it is more imperative than ever that these ships be able to exercise the rights of innocent passage, transit passage, and archipelagic sea lanes passage without asking prior permission or providing prior notification to coastal states. Equally important is the right of warships to operate freely and conduct military activities in the exclusive economic zones of all nations. These are rights that are being increasingly challenged by coastal nations.
The proliferation of excessive coastal-state restrictions on military activities in the exclusive economic zone should be a growing concern to all maritime nations. Such restrictions are inconsistent with the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and customary international law, and they erode the balance of interests that was carefully crafted during the nine-year negotiations that led to the adoption of UNCLOS. All nations must remain engaged, both domestically and internationally, in preserving operational flexibility and ensuring that the balance of interests reflected in UNCLOS is not eroded any further. The bottom line is that while UNCLOS grants coastal states sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring, exploiting, conserving, and managing the natural resources in the EEZs, it does not authorize them to interfere with legitimate military activities, which include much more than just navigation and overflight. Accordingly, U.S. warships, military aircraft and other sovereign immune ships and aircraft will continue to exercise their rights and freedoms in foreign EEZs, including China’s, in accordance with international law.