Lost Opportunity: Why Ratifying the Law of the Sea Treaty Still Has Merit

Abstract

The United States remains one of only a handful of nations that have declined to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (the “UNCLOS”). Although it has been thirty-four years since the UNCLOS was finalized, and twenty-two years since it took effect, the United States’ failure to ratify the UNCLOS remains a significant impediment to international cooperation. If anything, recent advances in maritime technology, indications of accelerating climate change, and signs of increasing geopolitical instability have made the need for U.S. participation in the UNCLOS more urgent. Wishing to maintain the chorus of support behind U.S. ratification despite the years of disappointing political obstructionism, this essay provides a brief overview of the origins and benefits of U.S. participation in the UNCLOS. *583 The environment is a global issue. Efforts toward preserving the environment and fashioning sustainable societies require global solutions. Unfortunately, the path toward fashioning global policies is complicated by competing perspectives and goals; differing viewpoints exist with respect issues ranging from resource scarcity--as illustrated by the feud between Julian Simon and Paul Ehrlich1 --to the definition of pollution.2 These complications underscore the importance of international cooperation and dialogue. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (“UNCLOS”) provides a useful model for creating meaningful policies to protect the vast and diverse ecosystems of the earth’s oceans. Although the United States played a crucial role in the formation of UNCLOS, the United States Senate has never ratified it. In 2009, President Barack Obama and members of the Senate conveyed their interest in garnering enough votes to achieve ratification.3 Again, in 2014, addressing the rise of territorial and maritime disputes *584 between China, the Philippines, and Vietnam on claims of ownership to the South China Sea, President Obama called for ratification, noting that “we cannot exempt ourselves from the rules that apply to everyone.” 4 Despite strong bipartisan support and advocacy efforts by both conservationists and the energy sector, the United States still has not ratified UNCLOS. This failure has implications on issues of the environment, the economy, national security, and international territorial and maritime dispute resolution.