'Scramble for the Arctic'

As my colleague Scott Paul has written on numerous occasions (here and here and here), it is important for the U.S. Senate to ratify the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea.

This morning, The Christian Science Monitor - a premier newspaper, especially when it comes to covering global issues and U.S. foreign policy - had an excellent editorial Scramble for the Arctic.

The Monitor's editorial board echoes Scott's note of last week in regards to the U.S. sending an expedition to the Arctic, following recent treks by Russia, Canada and Denmark. But, as Scott has previously written, and the Monitor does today, there is a simple cure to this silly race: The U.S. needs to ratify the treaty.

For the US to be a legitimate player in this race for the Arctic, the Senate must take the long-delayed step of ratifying the 1982 ocean treaty. Happily, hearings on whether to do so start in September.

The Monitor ends its editorial with a straight forward and clear message:

The Law of the Sea Treaty was designed to resolve claims over ocean territory and mineral resources. So far, it has worked fairly well. The US should join, and in doing so, work to give the Arctic a special status, one that preserves its unique environment.

It will be interesting to see what transpires when the Senate resumes its work post-Labor Day. The chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Joe Biden, has publicly supported ratifying the treaty; however he has yet to move forward in regards to holding hearings on Law of the Sea. Let's hope he sets a date, soon, and the Senate moves to ratify LOS.

After all, it's a no-brainer. Joining the Law of the Sea will give us a seat at the table so we can voice our concerns with other nations. We can't sit on the sidelines anymore.