Peacetime use of Force, Military Activities, and the New Law of the Sea
![handle is hein.journals/cintl18 and id is 213 raw text is: PEACETIME USE OF FORCE, MILITARY
ACTIVITIES, AND THE NEW LAW
OF THE SEA
Francesco Francionif
INTRODUCTION
Resource exploitation was the central theme of the Third Confer-
ence on the Law of the Sea. The 1982 Law of the Sea Convention (the
Convention) achieved conspicuous innovations in this area by recog-
nizing the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), expanding the Continen-
tal Shelf concept, and establishing an international regime for seabed
mining.' In contrast, military operations and the use of force remain
in the shadows of the new law of the sea. The Convention proclaims
the need for peaceful use of the oceans and expressly prohibits the use
of force.2 Yet military activities in the oceans of the world continue
and perhaps increase. Furthermore, the generalized widening of mari-
time jurisdiction is leading to a growing number of occasions for mili-
tary confrontation between coastal states and naval powers.
In this situation, the question arises, What will be the future
regulation of the use of force and military activities in the sea? This
Article will focus on three issues. First, what is the impact of the new
law of the sea, as defined by conventional and customary international
law, on military activities and the use of force in the territorial sea and
internal waters? Second, how are military activities compatible with
the EEZ, and what international norms regulate the use of military
force in this area? Finally, does the language of the 1982 Convention,
with its emphasis on peaceful use, impose any new obligation or
limitation on the use of military instruments at sea?
These questions are especially germane in light of article 298(b) of
the Convention. This article allows an exception to the compulsory
t Professor of International Law, University of Siena, Italy; Visiting Professor
Cornell Law School.
1. United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Apr. 30, 1982 (as approved
Sept. 24, 1982), U.N. Doc. A/CONF.62/122, parts V-VI, XI (1982) [hereinafter cited as
Convention].
2. Id. parts VII, XVI, arts. 88, 301. See also id. arts. 58(l) and 141, which call for
peaceful use of the sea in the context of the exclusive economic zone and seabed mining.](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/cintl18&div=14&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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Peacetime use of Force, Military Activities, and the New Law of the Sea
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