(NB&CL) 2024 marks the 30th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) officially coming into force. Over the past three decades, UNCLOS has increasingly demonstrated the power of the “International Constitution for the Seas and Oceans”, a comprehensive legal document that regulates all activities of nations, establishing a comprehensive, fair, and peaceful legal order in the field of seas and oceans.
9 years for a Convention to establish global maritime order
On November 16, 1994, 12 years after it was signed and ratified by 60 member states, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) officially came into effect. But that was not the end of the hardships involved in obtaining this legal document.
Going back in time, the idea of having a strong enough legal basis to “coordinate” all activities related to the sea and ocean has existed for a long time. The first international conference on the Law of the Sea was convened by the League of Nations in 1930 in The Hague (Netherlands) to discuss and develop international regulations on the regime of territorial waters, anti-piracy and principles for the use of natural resources of the sea, but did not achieve any specific results.
In 1958, the United Nations convened the First Conference on the Law of the Sea in Geneva (Switzerland) with 86 countries participating. This conference adopted 4 international conventions on the law of the sea, including: Convention on territorial waters and contiguous zones; Convention on fishing and conservation of living resources; Convention on the continental shelf; Convention on the high seas. However, some important issues have not been resolved, such as the breadth of territorial waters, the right to pass through international straits, limits of fishing zones, and the outer limits of the continental shelf.
Vietnam has actively participated in the process of building the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). In the photo: Coast Guard Ship 8001 (Command of Coast Guard Region 3) on duty at the DK1/15 platform area in the Phuc Nguyen cluster. Photo: Lam Khanh/VNA
On March 15, 1960, the United Nations continued to convene the Second Conference on the Law of the Sea in Geneva (Switzerland). However, due to many disagreements, this conference continued to fail to achieve any significant results. At the same time, Malta, a small coastal country in Europe, specifically Ambassador - Jurist Arvid Pardo, initiated a proposal for the United Nations to sponsor an international conference to draft the Convention on the Law of the Sea. This proposal immediately received a lot of response, and in 1973, the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea was therefore continued to be convened.
However, it took 5 years of preparation (1967-1972), 9 years of negotiation (1973-1982) and 11 sessions with the participation of hundreds of countries and many international organizations, including non-governmental organizations, until April 30, 1982, the 3rd United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea adopted the new Convention on the Law of the Sea with 130 votes in favor, 4 votes against, 17 abstentions and 2 countries not participating in the vote.
On December 10, 1982, the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982), in English, was signed by 107 participating countries, including Vietnam, in Montego Bay, Jamaica. The signing of UNCLOS is an important milestone of international maritime law, ending a long period of conflicts, disputes, tensions, and even chaos on the world's oceans and seas, and turning UNCLOS into a mandatory dispute resolution mechanism.
To date, 168 countries have joined the convention, of which 164 are members of the United Nations. UNCLOS is considered the international community's constitution on the sea because the Convention not only includes treaty provisions but also codifies customary regulations. UNCLOS covers all the most important contents in international law and practice on the world's seas and oceans.
Since the emergence of UNCLOS 1982, the International Seabed Authority was established in 1994, performing the function of organizing and controlling deep-sea activities outside the area of national jurisdiction, in order to regulate the exploitation and conservation of marine resources. The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea was also established in 1996 and has the power to resolve disputes related to the sea arising from the interpretation and application of the Convention.
Vietnam - 30 years of responsible membership of UNCLOS
As a coastal country with a coastline of more than 3,260km, Vietnam has many great benefits associated with the sea, so Vietnam is always very aware of the importance of the sea. Evidence is that the Vietnam Sea Strategy 2018 has identified the marine economy and sustainable use of the sea as a major focus in the country's development strategy.
Vietnam always strives to seriously implement the rights and obligations of a coastal state as stipulated in the Convention. In the photo: Guiding the boat to take the working group to Da Lat Island (Truong Sa). Photo: Tran Viet/VNA
For that reason, Vietnam has clearly recognized the importance of legal documents such as UNCLOS for the peaceful, stable and long-term development environment of Vietnam. Therefore, before the UNCLOS 1982 was born, Vietnam actively applied relevant provisions of international law to develop legal documents on the sea; participated in the 3rd United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea and immediately after UNCLOS was adopted, Vietnam was one of 107 countries to sign the Convention.
In particular, before the Convention came into effect, on June 23, 1994, the National Assembly of Vietnam issued a Resolution on the ratification of this important legal document, stating: “By ratifying the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam expresses its determination to join the international community in building a fair legal order, encouraging development and cooperation at sea”. The ratification resolution affirms the sovereignty of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam over its internal waters, territorial waters, sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the contiguous zone, exclusive economic zone and continental shelf of Vietnam on the basis of the provisions of UNCLOS and the principles of international law; and requests other countries to respect the above-mentioned rights of Vietnam.
The Resolution dated June 23, 1994 of the National Assembly of Vietnam once again affirmed Vietnam's sovereignty over the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos and advocated resolving disputes over territorial sovereignty as well as other disagreements related to the East Sea issue through peaceful negotiations, in the spirit of equality, understanding and mutual respect, respect for international law, respect for sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction of coastal countries over the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf.
In addition, on June 21, 2012, Vietnam promulgated the Law of the Sea to unify the management of planning, use, exploration, exploitation, and preservation of Vietnam's sea areas, continental shelf, and islands, as well as the settlement of maritime disputes between Vietnam and neighboring countries in a document of high validity.
Officers and soldiers of Naval Region 2, journalists and reporters on Truong Sa 19 ship waved to officers and soldiers on Dk1/15 platform (Phuc Nguyen). Photo: Thanh Dat/VNA
International press, such as Singapore's Fulcrum.sg website in 2022, published an article affirming that Vietnam has always been a responsible member and has made significant efforts to ratify and implement the provisions of UNCLOS 1982. In addition, Vietnam has also called on other countries in the Southeast Asian region to respect and comply with UNCLOS 1982. In particular, during its role as Chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) 2020, Vietnam has continuously emphasized the necessity of UNCLOS 1982 in maintaining regional peace and resolving maritime disputes.
In recent years, Vietnam has become more proactive in promoting international law in general and UNCLOS in particular. In June 2021, Vietnam initiated the establishment of the UNCLOS Friends Group, creating a forum for countries to exchange and discuss experiences in applying and interpreting UNCLOS in the management and use of the sea, seeking and encouraging cooperation opportunities, and further promoting commitments to implement UNCLOS within the UN. To date, the Group has nearly 120 countries from all geographical regions, including developed and developing countries and small island states.
The naval force protecting the Truong Sa archipelago is equipped with modern patrol equipment, always on high alert, patrolling and monitoring, grasping the situation at sea, accurately forecasting the situation to have plans and proactively respond to all developments. Photo: Duong Giang/VNA
In October 2022, Vietnam, together with 15 other countries, introduced an initiative to seek an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice to clarify the responsibilities and obligations of countries on climate change on the basis of relevant international treaties, including UNCLOS. In the context of the increasingly obvious and serious impacts of climate change on many countries, including Vietnam, promoting the initiative will be of great significance, contributing to the international community in strengthening its response to climate change, including through the sustainable use and management of seas and oceans.
Ha Anh
Source: https://www.congluan.vn/suc-manh-cua-ban-hien-phap-quoc-te-ve-bien-va-dai-duong-post318221.html
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