He who is master of the sea is master of the land” - Cardinal Richelieu former powerful French minister during the reign of King Louis XII

Exactly 10 years ago the world’s national boundaries as we know them began to change. The changes which are still taking place have everything to do with the world’s oceans and seas.

It all began in 2001 when Russia made its submission seeking for the extension of its water boundaries. This was followed by Brazil, Australia and Ireland. Dubbed the “last scramble of the world”, many nations followed suit, squabbling over 15 million square kilometers of ocean space. Since 2001 countries within and bordering the oceans have made submissions to the United Nations to delineate the outer limits of their continental shelves outside their Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ).

Interestingly however, some countries have made joint submissions paving way for future collaboration and bilateral deal-making, while others have made several submissions. Togo and Benin, Seychelles and Mauritius, South Africa and France, France, Ireland, Spain and United Kingdom, Micronesia, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands, Malaysia and Vietnam, Fiji, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu are some of the countries that have made both independent and joint submissions. All these are happening under the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) where coastal countries can seek for the extension of their EEZ beyond the 200 nautical miles. While this quest for more ocean territory may appear as if it is influenced by fishing stocks and territory the reality showcases a chase for much more than fisheries resources.

INFLUENCE

UNCLOS which was adopted in 10^th December 1982 and came into force on 16th November 1994 has been signed by more than 130 countries and it sets conditions, limits and sovereignty on the usage of the sea. Under UNCLOS states are allowed to extend their limits beyond 200 miles if they can prove that the continental shelf beyond their coastline extends that far and produce obligatory scientific records and the extra margin is not more than 100 miles at which the sea reaches a depth of 2.5km. Should states prove this they will be granted full rights to natural resources on and under the sea bed up to 350 miles from land.Initially the claims lodged for more ocean territory appeared to be influenced by fishing stocks, the authentic desire however is actually related to mineral processing, exploration and exploitation. It is generally believed that the ocean has vast reserves of manganese, cobalt, copper and nickel.

The quest for more ocean territory is chiefly driven by a pursuit for control of these precious mineral resources. The natural resources consist of the mineral and other non-living resources of the seabed and subsoil together with living organisms belonging to sedimentary species. The expedition for oil and gas is the key reason informing this scramble.  By last year the Chinese had outwitted everyone when they started mining minerals in the South West Indian Ocean, in a ridge 1700 metres down, on an area where no country had claimed jurisdiction. In January this year, the Government of Papua New Guinea granted the world’s first ever deep sea mining lease to the Canadian mining firm, Nautilus Minerals Inc for the development of its Solwara 1 project in the Bismarck Sea for the mining of high grade copper and gold deposits.

China, France Germany, India, Japan, Russia, South Korea and an amalgam of Eastern Europe nations have in the last five years been awarded licenses by the Kingston, Jamaica - based UN International Seabed Authority (UNISA) to explore mining ventures in the deep ocean seabed. Incidentally the battle for the control of the seas is not just a mining conglomerates affair. Pharmaceutical giants are also in line seeking to exploit sea cucumbers said to contain ingredients for breast and ovarian cancers among other sea organism wonders.

UNCLOS records reveal that so far 56 states have submitted their submissions for extended territory and 14 of these submissions have been settled. The 14 include Russian Federation, Brazil, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, France, Norway, Mexico, Barbados, UK, Japan, Seychelles, Mauritius and Suriname. In essence, the fourteen nations have sovereign exploration and exploitation rights over natural resources over clearly delineated areas, seabed and subsoil in their respective delineated zones.

According to UNCLOS these rights are deemed to be exclusive in the sense that if the countries that have been granted sole rights over their respective areas do not explore their Extended Continental Shelf or exploit natural resources within those regions, no one may undertake such activities without the express consent of the States.

Seychelles and Mauritius became the first African nations to have their joint submission accepted. On 1^st December 2008, Seychelles and Mauritius made a joint submission to UNCLOS for the delineation and jurisdiction of the extended continental shelf of 396,000 square kilometers in the Mascarene region which is outside the border of Seychelles and Mauritian Exclusive Economic Zones. In April this year this request by Seychelles and Mauritius was granted making it a first for Africa.

“It is the first time two small island states in the Indian Ocean present a joint submission, and successfully collaborate to build this major bridge in delimitation of their maritime territories. This is another victory for Seychelles! It shows how we can develop our relations with our island neighbors for the mutual benefit of our peoples and ensure the future sustainable exploitation of marine and mineral resources,” Seychelles President, James Michel says.

The joint submission made by Seychelles and Mauritius lodged with the UNCLOS on 1st December 2008 was a 59-page document, which was later examined by a sub commission of UNCLOS. The final defence for the Mascarene Plateau continental shelf went through the last stage last year and the recommendations were finally adopted by the plenary on 30th March 2011.

SEE-SAW BATTLE

Seychelles and Mauritius jointly made the final presentation at the plenary on the 29th March 2011. Other than this joint submission Seychelles and Mauritius have also separately and singly sought to be granted the rights on the Northern plateau region and the Rodrigues island expanse respectively. Just as expected the scramble for the seas will not be smooth sailing for all.

In the Indian Ocean there is a nasty see saw battle between nations. Mauritius rankled the United Kingdom badly by claiming the area around Rodrigues Island, which also covers the Chagos archipelago. In Britain’s foreign parlance Chagos (Diego Garcia) is officially classified under British Overseas Territories in the name of British Indian Ocean Territory.

In 1966 Britain leased Chagos to the US for a period of 50 years which comes to an end in 2016. In April 2010, UK declared most of the Chagos archipelago’s EEZ as a Marine Protected Area (MPA). The creation of the MPA has largely been supported by global environmental lobbies namely IUCN and Greenpeace. But this has been challenged by Mauritius. In its notification and statement of claim the Port Louis government argues:

“Mauritius requests the Annex VII arbitral tribunal to declare, in accordance with the provisions of UNCLOS and the applicable rules of international law not incompatible with the Convention that, in respect of the Chagos Archipelago: The ‘MPA’ is not compatible with the 1982 Convention, and is without legal effect; and the United Kingdom is not a ‘coastal state’ within the meaning of the 1982 Convention and is not competent to establish the ‘MPA’; and only Mauritius is entitled to declare an exclusive economic zone under Part V of the 1982 Convention within which a marine protected area might be declared.”

Mauritius also claims fishing and other subsequent rights over this archipelago and demands the resettlement of evicted Chagosians who formerly occupied the islands.

According to Wikileaks the creation of the MPA was a red herring by UK to avoid claims by Mauritius. The dispute is yet to be settled.  Since 1968, Mauritius has claimed the Chagos islands, but UK has adamantly refused to cede control citing defense reasons. Other than the Chagos archipelago fight, UK will still be on the dock with Argentina over the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) which saw the two countries going to war in 1982.

Tanzania on the other hand seems to be bracing for a fight with the Seychelles over the Aldabra region. Britain is not the only former imperial power involved in the fight for the seas. France, China, Australia, Spain, Canada and a host of other powers too are embroiled in the fight for more overseas territories and spheres of influence.

The virgin wealth of the sea and its subsequent control seems to have triggered a nasty diplomatic and legal offensive to control these vast treasures, only this time around, Africa too is laying claims. The “odd man out at sea” in all these is the US. Despite being a leader in deep sea exploration and having actively participated in UNCLOS negotiations the US Congress has never ratified UNCLOS

By WANJOHI KABUKURU

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