An influential group of former military and political leaders has called on the US Senate to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Only then can the country assert its claim to areas in international waters where important minerals such as copper, nickel, cobalt, manganese and rare earths will be mined in the future.
In the US, these are considered crucial for the green energy transition, for military applications and to avoid falling behind in competition with China in global supply chains for critical minerals. Ratification is therefore considered essential, also in order to be credible in maritime disputes and to be able to negotiate on an equal footing.
The letter to two senators - one Democrat (D) and one Republican (R) - has over 330 initial signatories, including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (D) and former Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte (R), Admiral Dennis Blair, former Director of National Intelligence, and Admiral Jonathan Greenert, former commander of the U.S. Navy.
Exploration licences applied for in the Pacific Ocean. Graphic: BGR Hanover
The background to this letter is the fear that the USA will not be granted licences to mine the four deep-sea mining areas it has applied for, each of which is said to contain strategic minerals worth over 920 billion euros, while the Russian Federation has applied for three sites and China even five sites and is seeking a monopoly for the refining of these strategic minerals, according to the letter.
The Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which came into force in 1994, is an international agreement under international maritime law that sets out the legal framework for most maritime activities. Although the USA recognises the treaty, it has not yet ratified it, as have Iran and Peru, for example, which have border disputes with their respective neighbouring countries. Syria and Turkey have also not ratified the treaty. For all states that have not ratified, national interests far outweigh the common good.
Definition of the areas of application according to the Convention on the Law of the Sea. Graphic: Alfred Wegner Institute
With regard to deep sea mining, this means that the USA is not a voting member of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), the governing body that manages the mineral resources of the deep sea as the "common heritage of mankind". This also means that the USA has no say in proposed legislation and cannot obtain advance utilisation agreements for the exploitation of mineral resources in international waters. The ISA and its members are currently discussing the final parts of the Mining Code, which is intended to regulate seabed mining.
Deep-sea mining remains controversial, and not just in the USA. While its proponents argue that the extraction of minerals from the seabed avoids the ecological and social damage associated with mining on land, its critics say that it damages or destroys an environment largely untouched by humans.
Political support for deep sea mining has increased in the USA. The President and the government are ready to ratify the agreement. However, the Senate must also give its consent, in which there is currently no majority in favour. Numerous Republican politicians are railing against the licence fees that would have to be paid to developing countries. This new principle of redistributing wealth is a bottomless pit and a serious threat to US companies.
As the USA can only assert its claims to the expansion of the continental shelf via UNCLOS and the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, there is no legal certainty for the USA in the long term. In particular, if other states make excessive claims to extend their sphere of influence beyond the EEZ, such as for the Arctic, the USA lacks the legal means to take action against this.
Overview of the high seas areas and EEZs. Graphic: Federal Foreign Office
Two members of the Republican Party therefore introduced a bill in Congress urging fiscal and political support for deep sea mining. This example shows that previous views and insights on certain international treaties in economic terms and in competition with China are moving even conservative politicians. Whether or when the Senate will achieve a veritable majority in favour of ratification remains uncertain; the serious discussion in the USA has only just begun.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
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Of the approximately 200 states in the world, 169, but not the USA, have ratified the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (in force since 1994). The USA's abstention is clear evidence of its "withdrawal" from international responsibility. Now responsible US politicians, military and business representatives are calling for accession because they fear the loss of access to marine resources that are needed for the new "green industries".
Of course, this warning also applies to Germany and the entire EU. Germany, the Federal Minister of Economics, is known to have acquired two licences for deep-sea mining from the UN's International Seabed Authority (one each in the Pacific and Indian Oceans) and explored astonishingly large reserves of raw materials. German industry, particularly the automotive and mechanical engineering sectors, but also the defence industry, has so far been largely dependent on the import of metals from China, where the smelting of critical metals and rare earths is monopolised. It is therefore advisable to focus on future deep-sea mining in order to diversify supply chains. Germany's interests are threefold: securing raw materials, developing new technologies and enforcing high environmental standards! Unfortunately, the Berlin government is only committed to supporting the environmental aspects. This one-eyed view does not help. The many offshore wind farms and the flourishing offshore oil, gas and LNG production show that industrial use of the sea is environmentally compatible and is also tolerated by society. Where will the raw materials for the many new electric cars, batteries, wind turbines, photovoltaics, data centres and chips come from?
says Uwe Jenisch, Kiel