Urge Senators to Reject the Law of the Sea Treaty!
By John McManus
2007-06-08
The Bush administration is now pushing the U.S. Senate to ratify the Law of the Sea Treaty. However, the treaty is a flawed document, and there would be serious costs from accepting it.
The Law of the Sea Treaty originated in the 1970s as part of the United Nations' redistributionist agenda known as the "New International Economic Order." The treaty covers such issues as fishing and navigation, but the controversy arose mainly over seabed mining. In essence, the Law of the Sea Treaty was designed to transfer wealth and technology from the industrialized states to the Third World.
Two decades ago, President Ronald Reagan refused to sign the treaty. But the first Bush and Clinton administrations worked to "fix" the treaty, leading to a revised agreement in 1994. GOP gains in Congress, however, dissuaded the Clinton administration from pushing for ratification. Now George W. Bush has stepped up to the plate.
But despite the "fixes," the revised treaty retains many of its original flaws. There is still a complicated multinational bureaucracy that could easily discriminate against American interests. After all, the purpose of this bureaucracy isn't to be equally helpful to all nations. It is to redistribute resources to irresponsible Third World governments with a sorry history of squandering foreign aid. This redistributionist bent is reflected in the treaty's call for financial transfers to developing states and even "peoples who have not attained full independence or other self-governing status," which is a euphemism for groups such as the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Whatever changes the treaty has undergone, constantly present has been Third World pressure for financial transfers. President Reagan was right to torpedo the Law of the Sea Treaty two decades ago. Creating a new oceans bureaucracy is no more attractive today.
Urge the U.S. Senate to reject the Law of the Sea Treaty.
