(See “UNCLOS: Let’s Get on Board.”) According to
Vice President Joseph Biden, “The convention allows UNCLOS:
us to secure and extend our sovereign rights.” Adds
Let’s Get on Board
John Negroponte, deputy secretary of state during the
George W. Bush administration: “Russian expeditions As international treaties go, few can rival the
to the Arctic have focused attention on the resource- U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UN-
related benefi ts of being a party to the convention.” CLOS) when it comes to time spent on this coun-
Plus, the Bush administration’s ARP called on the Sen- try’s political back burner. Adopted in 1982, the
ate to pass the treaty “promptly.” treaty has yet to make its way to the Senate floor
■ The U.S. and Canada dispute boundary marks in the for an up or down confirmation vote.
Beaufort Sea (Alaska’s northern border). In the meantime, 158 nations have ratified
■ U.S. subs occasionally traverse Arctic waters without the treaty and are reaping its benefits. Accord-
notifying the Canadian government, angering Ottawa. ing to the military’s top lawyers and many oth-
■ Denmark and Canada dispute tiny Hans Island and ers, America’s failure to get on board UNCLOS
sometimes even send military detachments to raise their is increasingly disadvantaging this country and
respective colors. poses potentially serious risks to its ability to
Canada has grown increasingly serious about the Arc- project military forces.
tic since the election of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Vice Adm. Bruce MacDonald, the Navy’s senior
As The Toronto Star recently noted, Canadian forces military attorney, reflects the nearly unanimous
view of active duty military leaders that ratifica-
tion is both necessary and long overdue. He is
an unequivocal proponent, stating, “Our armed
Russia seems forces need and deserve to have the robust legal
determined to slice off
authorities contained within the Law of the Sea
Convention that enable global mobility.”
a sizeable piece of the
Among the most important of those legal
authorities, MacDonald says, is the freedom of
Arctic pie — in violation
movement, including the support of military
operations and activities, that the convention
of international agree-
grants ratifying nations in such critical maritime
chokepoints as the Strait of Gibraltar and Strait
ments limiting claims
of Hormuz.
Both MacDonald and Rear Adm. Bill
more than 200
Baumgartner, judge advocate general of the
Coast Guard, point out the military officers who
miles offshore.
served as members of the U.S. delegation ne-
gotiating the treaty nearly three decades ago
successfully insisted on an ironclad exemption
patrol the country’s Arctic territories as part of “a now- to ensure U.S. military activities would be fully
yearly exercise” known as Operation Nunalivut — “this exempt from the convention’s multinational dis-
land is ours” — aimed at asserting Canadian sovereignty. pute resolution procedure.
“To protect the north, we must control the north,” They also note the treaty explicitly per-
Harper bluntly declared in 2008. Toward that end, Harper mits party nations full freedom of movement
has pledged $3 billion to build eight military patrol vessels in, under, and over the expansive “exclusive
with the capacity to break through three feet of ice, vowed economic zones” (EEZ) now being claimed by
to add aerial surveillance assets and increase the size of many of the world’s nations under the conven-
Canada’s Army Ranger units to 5,000, and outlined plans tion. Parties can declare an area extending up
for a new army training center and a deepwater port in the to 200 miles seaward from their coastline in
northern reaches of Canada. which they may exercise exclusive rights to
This marks a dramatic departure for Canada. Unlike explore and exploit both mineral and living
the U.S., Canada has never invested seriously in its se- resources. [CONTINUES ON NEXT PAGE]
curity on the Arctic frontier, owing to the fact that, until
SEPTEMBER 2009 MILITARY OFFICER 103
SSept_ColdWar.indd
103ept_ColdWar.indd 103 77/31/09 1:14 PM/31/09 1:14 PM
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132