Law of Sea Treaty?

Question

Is it in the best interests of the United States and its people to sign the Law of the Sea Treaty ???

Answer 1

Darn Tooting.

If we do not sign it, that means we are letting conspiracy theorists run the USA.

Russia will take over the North Pole.

China will refuse permission for US Navy to come within 200 miles of Asia.

The Law of the Sea gives right of passage for ships through international waterways. Don't sign it & give up that freedom.

If we do sign it, that means our leaders are paying attention to what is being requested by all branches of the US military and most environmental groups.

Answer 2

I'm not sure, I took my Law of the Sea course back in 2000, so I don't remember all of the details of the treaty. But a few things stand out in my mind, the first being that the things we disagreed with seemed to be minor technicalities, some of which aren't even technically feasible at this time (manganese nodule rights), that the U.S. Navy is the only Navy in the world challenging excessive territorial claims (and the only Navy with the ability to do it worldwide, especially in Artic areas), that the Naval Officer who briefed us on the status of the treaty at that time reminded us that we abide by almost all of the provisions anyway, but if we don't sign, we will lose the ability to make changes to it. He made it seem that the loss of sovereignty issue in general (all treaties) was the real issue, not any specific point of this particular treaty. So it's hard to say. The U.S. interprets the Law of the Sea much more conservatively than most countries (with regard to baseline calculation for determining territorial waters for example), so I really am not sure which way we should go on this one.

Answer 3

oh my Lord, are you insane. The LOST treaty will undermine our sovereignty and make us answer to the UN. It has been tabled for the time being, but let's hope it just disappears entirely.

Answer 4

No. Absolutely not.