China may set up joint patrols to monitor U.S. Deep Sea Mining, China academics opine
Two China based academics have suggested that China may set up 'joint maritime patrols' to monitor any future US-sanctioned deep sea mining activities in international waters.
The suggestion was made in an opinion piece, jointly written by Dr Ma Bo and Liu Yuhang for South China Morning Post, a Hong Kong based English language newspaper owned by Alibaba Group.
Dr. Ma is an associate professor at the School of International Studies and assistant director of the Collaborative Innovation Centre of South China Sea Studies at Nanjing University, while Ms Liu is a research assistant at Nanjing University's School of International Studies.
In the piece published yesterday, the two discussed China's likely strategic responses to Donald Trump's executive order in April, calling for deep sea mining to be expedited through American regulatory agencies, rather than the international regulator, The International Seabed Authority (ISA).
The academics posited that China would likely reinforce its commitment to multilateralism as a long standing signatory to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and use the current moment to bolster its geopolitical reputation as an adherent of international norms.
They noted that China has been a Group A member at the ISA with the most explorations contacts, and has invested heavily in deep sea mining technology.
It's been suggested that Trump's unilateral deep sea mining plans might encourage China to respond in kind, but Ma Bo and Liu Yuhang argue that China is more likely to rally other concerned countries to pressure the United States to back down:
China is likely to avoid portraying the issue as strictly bilateral or confrontational, framing it as a matter of shared international concern and building a global consensus to pressure the US to reconsider.
However, the pair argue that if the US presses ahead with deep sea mining outside of the ISA framework, China may resort to high seas monitoring:
China, in collaboration with international partners, may implement maritime monitoring initiatives. Coordinated joint patrols could document the environmental impact and breaches of standards. Such actions would constitute lawful responses designed to deter unilateral exploitation and protect marine ecosystems without escalating geopolitical tensions or prompting a confrontation with the US
Trump's move to unilaterally permit deep sea mining within US waters and in areas of the seabed beyond US jurisdiction is aimed at countering China's overwhelming dominance in the mining and metals market.
China was swift to respond, describing the plans as a breach of international law, as did the ISA who denied that it was delaying deep sea mining regulations because it's biased towards conservationists.
The ISA has not given the go ahead for deep sea mining but has issued exploration contracts so that would be miners and their sponsor countries could begin to do test recovery of the metals, conduct studies and develop technologies.
Read:
- The South China Morning Post editorial: Opinion | Trump’s executive order to boost US deep-sea mining will force China to act
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