International Day of the Oceans.
Featured Image: Photo by Marek Okon, Unsplash.
Progress on Asian Maritime Delimitations Needed.
8 June has been designated by the United Nations General Assembly as the International Day of the Oceans to highlight the important role that the U.N. played in the creation of the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention. (UNCLOS).
Photo by Alice Mourou on Unsplash.
Our Common Oceans and Seas.
Heating Up.
However, there are maritime delimitation disputes that are currently dangerous and require good-faith negotiations to prevent increased tensions. The maritime delimitations within the South China Sea are particularly sensitive. Maritime delimitations can be heated up by governments and cooled off at will when other political issues require attention. Currently, we are in a “heating up” stage between China and Taiwan, China and Vietnam, China and Japan, and China and the Philippines. The China – U.S.A. tensions also color the South China Sea issues. (1)
There are both economic and geostrategic aspects to these tensions, and both need to be addressed if good- faith negotiations are to lead to cooperation for the benefit of all. Progress in maritime geology and predictions of metal shortages in the decades ahead have made seabed mining a concern for governments such as China, Japan, and South Korea. Minerals such as copper, gold and other industrial minerals as well as oil-natural gas are thought to be available through seabed mining in this Pacific area.
The International Day of the Oceans can serve as the start of a strong mobilization of voices calling for good-faith negotiations and for a vision of cooperation among the States of the South China Sea. (2)
Image: The USS John S. McCain conducts a routine patrol in the South China Sea, Jan. 22, 2017. The guided-missile destroyer is supporting security and stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. Navy photo by Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class James Vazquez. By Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class James Vazquez, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Saber Rattling in the South China Sea.
Notes:
- (1) For a good overview of the history with maps of the disputed areas, see Douglas Johnston and Mark Valencia: Pacific Ocean Boundary Problems (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1991).
- (2) For a useful approach to adjudication of delimitation issues, see A.O. Adede: The System for Settlement of Disputes Under the UNCLOS (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1987).

President, Association of World Citizens (AWC).
Estudied International relations in The University of Chicago.
Estudied Special Program in European Civilization en Princeton University
Here are other publications that may be of interest to you.
World Humanitarian Day: A Need for Common Actions.
Featured Image: Photo by Wylly Suhendra on Unsplash. The United Nations General Assembly has designated 19 August as “World Humanitarian Day” to pay tribute to aid workers in humanitarian service…
Peace Planners: Awake!.
Featured Image: Photo by Eddie Kopp, Unsplash. The recent NATO Summit in Vilnius is an indication that the war planning community is busy at work in the spirit of Von…
Track Two Efforts Needed to Reduce China-India Frontier Tensions.
Featured Image: Arunachal Pradesh – India. Photo by Unexplored Northeast, Unsplash. There has been a constant buildup of military forces by the governments of both India and China along their common frontiers. …
Democratic Republic of Congo: Sky Getting Darker.
Photo by jorono, Pixabay. The armed conflict in the eastern area of the Democratic Republic of Congo (RDC) on the frontier with Rwanda seems to be growing worse and is…
World Refugee Day.
June 20 is the United Nations (UN)-designated World Refugee Day; marking the signing in 1951 of the Convention on Refugees. The condition of refugees and migrants has become a “hot”…
4 June: Memories of Tiananmen Square.
4 June makes the security forces in China somewhat uneasy, especially in Hong Kong where, in the past, there were large memorial meetings tp remind people of 4 June 1989…
Politics Beyond National Frontiers.
Featured Image: Photo by Markus Spiske, Unsplash. In our current globalized world society, there is an increased role for politics without borders. Politics no longer stops at the water’s edge…
Protecting Cultural Heritage in Time of War.
Featured Image: World Heritage flag, Stortorget, Karlskrona. By Henrik Sendelbach, CC BY-SA 2.5 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5, via Wikimedia Commons. War and armed violence are highly destructive of the lives of persons, but…
Let My Children Go: World Efforts to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labour.
Featured Picture: Nepali girls working in brick factory. Krish Dulal, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons. Child Labour. Your children are not your children;They are the sons and daughters…
Our Common Oceans and Seas.
Featured Picture: Photo by Alice Mourou on Unsplash. The people of the earth having agreed that the advancement of man in spiritual excellence and physical welfare is the common goal…