Naval activity in the exclusive economic zone—Troubled waters ahead?

Abstract

Abstract During the past decade, a growing number of states have claimed some form of a maritime exclusive economic zone (EEZ). These claims vary widely. Some merely echo the EEZ model set forth in the 1982 UN Law of the Sea Convention; others assert extended claims that potentially threaten the peacetime use of this zone by foreign navies. After a brief survey of the variety of EEZ claims, the author discusses ambiguities in the 1982 Convention that open the door to expanded or “rogue”; EEZs. Next follows a critique of options available to naval powers to curb objectionable EEZ claims—options such as bilateral agreements, the International Court of Justice, the 1982 LOS Convention, and the U.S. Freedom of Navigation (FON) program. Given U.S. reluctance to ratify the 1982 Convention, this author argues that a FON campaign is likely to remain the primary tool to discourage creeping EEZ jurisdiction. Thus far, however, it would seem the U.S. FON program has relegated EEZ issues to a back‐burner status. The ...