By Ankit Panda
If the U.S. wants to moderate Chinese adventurism in the South China Sea, it should ratify UNCLOS.
As diligent Diplomat readers may be aware, the situation in the South China Sea is starting to heat up. The United States has started challenging China’s ongoing land reclamation activity in a bid to demonstrate that despite China’s actions, the sovereignty of the disputed reefs and islands, in the Spratlys and elsewhere, remains indeterminate. The United States’ use of aircraft and soon ships, if recent reports are accurate, is designed to support a particular interpretation of international law and how it applies in the South China Sea.* The United States purports to defend the freedom of navigation in a manner consistent with international law. In this context, the fact that the United States has not ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea (UNCLOS) is somewhat problematic.
To be sure, despite having never signed UNCLOS, U.S. policy and treatment of the maritime commons understands the U.N. treaty as a pillar of customary international law. This means that the United States behaves as if UNCLOS is the de facto international standard for maritime security. This is a good thing, but it doesn’t help strengthen the United States’ position on freedom of navigation and the much trickier questions of territorial sovereignty against China’s ongoing attempts to change the facts on the water. The current U.S. administration should make it a priority to see UNCLOS ratified before it leaves office in January 2017.
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