The US should ratify UNCLOS so that international community can behave amicably at sea
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is the international agreement that deals with territorial claims at sea. It has been signed by the vast majority of countries in the world and the United States is one of the few that hasn’t. Signing this treaty would give the international community a stronger stance to challenge China’s unrealistic and aggressive claim to the entire South China Sea.
This belligerence is part of a larger bid for Chinese territorial grabs and should be looked upon equally as unfavourable. Hostility is a theme running through all of China’s border disputes both on land and at sea, as can be seen in the recent military border posturing with India. The areas China is claiming at sea however are rich in oil and natural gas deposits, which is the most probable reason why China intends to seek ownership over this territory.
The majority of international legal experts hold China’s historical claims to be invalid, and China’s position in the region is largely seen as ambiguous. The historical claim does not hold up to scrutiny as China may have some records claiming the territory, but as these were never internationally recognised, and many other countries share legitimate older and newer claims to the area, this argument falls apart completely. Indonesia has a history of sailing the South China Sea, both to attack south Vietnam and to send envoys to ancient China, throughout the 6th and 7th centuries the Javanese Kingdom of Tarumanagara sent envoys to China, initially as far back as 528 AD. The earliest records of Chinese government or navy ships sailing in this area is not until the 12th century.