Center for a New American Security

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.

“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 Will Rogers, author of Security at Sea: The Case for Ratifying the Law of the Sea Convention. “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.”