American-Chinese Controversies in the Field of Marine (Scientific and Military) Research of the World Ocean

ЮГО-ВОСТОЧНАЯ АЗИЯ: АКТУАЛЬНЫЕ ПРОБЛЕМЫ РАЗВИТИЯ, 2023, №5(61), 24-42

 
Annotation: The 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea introduced a regime for conducting marine scientific research. However, a significant flaw in this regime was that the text of the Convention does not specify anywhere what "marine scientific research" is. This has led to the fact that in the maritime zones of sovereignty of coastal States there are no disputes regarding the permissive procedure for their conduct. In the zones of sovereign rights and jurisdiction – exclusive economic zones – the convention requirements on the need to obtain formal consent from the coastal State for their implementation are interpreted differently by different countries. This is especially true for such activities as hydrographic research and military surveys. Some countries, primarily the United States and its closest allies, allow an expansive interpretation of the Convention norms, removing these activities from the category of marine scientific research in order to avoid the prospects of their regulation by coastal States. Among the main opponents of this approach is the People's Republic of China, which has established an extremely strictly regulated regime for conducting marine scientific research, and disputes the US approach to their implementation, primarily in the waters of the South China Sea. These contradictions are extremely conflictual in nature and are one of the main reasons for the US-Chinese confrontation in the region.

Keywords: USA, China, World Ocean, 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, marine scientific research, hydrographic research, military surveys, exclusive economic zone