Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – A few weeks ago, the area of the United States increased by 1 million square kilometers, almost double the area of Spain.
This unexpected increase in area was not caused by strange geological circumstances or by foreign invasion. However, it is the United States' attempt to claim the surrounding seabed area.
The continental shelf is an area of seabed that surrounds large areas of land where the sea is relatively shallow compared to the open ocean.
Under international law, a country can claim the continental shelf, allowing them to manage and exploit its resources.
A total of 75 countries have established an Extended Continental Shelf (ECS) limit, which refers to the part of the continental shelf that exceeds 200 nautical miles (230 miles) from the coast. To date, the US has not done this.
On December 19, 2023, the US Department of State announced new geographic coordinates defining what they claim is their ECS region.
Since 2003 US authorities have collaborated with NOAA, the US Geological Survey and 12 other agencies to collect geological data to determine the outer limits of their ECS.
Now, the US claims ECS in seven offshore areas of the Arctic, Atlantic (east coast), Bering Sea, Pacific (west coast), Mariana Islands and two areas in the Gulf of Mexico. In total, this takes up an area of 1 million square kilometers.
“America is bigger than it was yesterday,” said Mead Treadwell, former lieutenant governor of Alaska and former chairman of the US Arctic Research Commission, quoted from IFL Science, Tuesday (16/1/2024).
“This is not a Louisiana purchase. This is not an Alaska purchase, but new land and subsurface resources beneath the American-controlled lands are two Californias larger,” he added.
The legality of this additional land remains in question, Treadwell explained in a post for the Wilson Center.
For the definition to become official, the US must submit data and reports to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). However, the US has not ratified UNCLOS due to complex political differences even though the agreement has been ratified by 168 countries and the European Union.
This creates uncertainty as to how the proposition will be received under international law.
“If someone came back and said, 'Your science base is terrible,' I think the United States would listen,” Treadwell said. “But I don't think science is bad. I think we have very good science,” he continued
Claiming new maritime borders can cause controversy on the international stage. Some of the most significant geopolitical disputes in recent times have involved China and its neighbors, such as the Philippines and Vietnam, over claims to the South China Sea.
On the one hand the US will gain a lot from their recent declaration. Expansion of seabed areas in the Arctic Ocean could open the region to further mining, shipping and fishing. Although there is potential damage that can be caused.
[Gambas:Video CNBC]
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