American Security and Law of the Sea

Abstract

With the election of President Barack Obama and renewed interest in the Law of the Sea Convention inside the United States, this article pulls from obscurity the key U.S. declarations, understandings, and conditions of ratification to the Treaty, considers their context and meaning for U.S. security interests, and helps to place them into the lexicon of oceans law and policy that informs the greater dialogue of international security and strategy.

Keywords: Law of the Sea, National Security, Maritime Law, Naval Warfare, Freedom of Navigation, Treaty Ratification