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2005 China Oceans L. Rev. 447 (2005)
An Analysis of the Evolution of the United States' Position on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

handle is hein.journals/cholr2005 and id is 465 raw text is: An Analysis of the Evolution of the United States' Position on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 447 An Analysis of the Evolution of the United States' Position on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea HONG Nong * Abstract: The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (the UNCLOS) was under preparation for negotiations in 1967, adopted and signed in 1982, and put into force in 1994. As a marine power, the U.S. repeatedly changes its position on ratifying the UNCLOS. Before 1980s, the U.S. actively participated in formulating the UNCLOS, but it refused to accept the UNCLOS during the 1980s and 1990s, and the Senate and the House of Representatives of the U.S. held three hearings on accession to the UNCLOS in 2003 and 2004. By reviewing the different attitudes of the U.S. toward the ratification of the UNCLOS at various periods, this paper aims to analyze the reasons behind these attitudes, and puts forward the author's own understanding, on the basis of a preliminary analysis of relevant provisions of the UNCLOS in light of several cases including the negotiation on the U.S.-China Spy Plane Incident. Key Words: UNCLOS; U.S.; Interests; Customary international law I. Preparation and Negotiation: the U.S. Was Basically Supportive The United Nations held a drafting assembly of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (hereinafter referred to as the UNCLOS) in 1958, in which the U.S. government played a leading role. In the following twenty-four years, the U.S. actively participated in the drafting of all articles of the UNCLOS as the main negotiator. The Department of Defense and the Navy of the U.S. assigned a large number of personnel to participate in the negotiations, and the U.S. for a time con- * HONG Nong, research assistant, National Institute for South China Sea Studies. © THE AUTHOR AND CHINA OCEANS LAW REVIEW

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