Failure to Ratify the Law of the Sea Convention Will Increasingly Imperil U.S. Interests, Says CNAS Expert
Washington, April 25, 2012 — While the United States has protected its maritime interests without ratifying the Law of the Sea Convention (LOSC), the rise of modern navies and unconventional security threats are making this approach increasingly risky and will imperil U.S. national security interests. The U.S. Senate must act now to protect the nation's maritime interests by approving LOSC, argues Will Rogers in Security at Sea: The Case for Ratifying the Law of the Sea Convention, released today by CNAS.
Download Security at Sea: The Case for Ratifying the Law of the Sea Convention.
Rogers argues that ratifying LOSC will:
- Strengthen U.S. counterpiracy and counter weapons of mass destruction proliferation missions;
- Increase America's ability to protect its interests in the Arctic, the South China Sea and the Caribbean Sea; and
- Protect and enhance U.S. sovereignty by allowing the United States to make internationally recognized sovereign claims to its extended continental shelf and the natural resources lying beneath the seabed, including oil and natural gas reserves that will bolster U.S. domestic energy production.
"Failure
to ratify LOSC will cede to other countries America's ability to shape the
interpretation and execution of the convention and protect the provisions that
support the existing international order," writes Rogers. "It will
also complicate America's ability to address maritime challenges in the Arctic
and South China Sea, inhibit America's ability to drill for oil and gas offshore
and allow other countries to lay claim to strategic energy and mineral reserves
located in the high seas."
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The Center for a New
American Security
(CNAS) is an independent and nonpartisan research
institution that develops strong, pragmatic and principled national security
and defense policies. CNAS leads efforts to help inform and prepare the
national security leaders of today and tomorrow.
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