The interplay between maritime security and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea: help or hindrance?

The seas and oceans cover 70 per cent of the earth’s surface, and 90 per cent of world trade is by sea.1 The oceans have always been a source of power and wealth for states who have been keen to delimit their own maritime limits, but states have also sought to ensure that the high seas remain open to all users. Major maritime nations have enjoyed a military advantage over smaller coastal and landlocked states by using and controlling the maritime domain for the purposes of navigation, commerce and naval warfare. Economic benefits from the development of the blue economy agenda have also become added to the exploitation of fisheries and of marine natural resources, which have traditionally contributed to the economies of states.2 Nevertheless, the continuing economic development of the oceans has been overshadowed by increasing maritime security threats. While traditional forms of inter-state disputes regarding the use and delimitation of their maritime zones remain, new maritime security threats posed by non-state actors have