Title: Is the Freedom of the High Seas under Threat from Marine Protected Areas? : Environmental Protection versus Security Interests under International Law
Abstract: Some states tend to use environmental treaty frameworks to address environmental issues in the oceans against the background of environmental movements. Among the most notorious institutions of this kind is the establishment of the Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) on the high seas and the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) area outside of the territorial seas of coastal states. These relatively new measures may ignite or even worsen tensions between coastal states and maritime powers such as the United States. The naval powers that need to retain their naval mobility stress the traditional idea of the freedom of the seas, particularly on the high seas. Moreover, these naval states’ interests run counter to those of coastal states, whose creeping jurisdiction is expanding through excessive maritime claims. However, whether these two apparently conflicting interests are irreconcilable is yet to be seen, and there are doubts about the existence of the risk and threat allegedly being caused by the excessive maritime claim made by the coastal states. The purpose of this essay is to clarify the relations between the MPAs established on the high seas area by the coastal states and the freedom of the high seas enjoyed by the maritime powers. As is demonstrated by some typical cases, the risk and impact of the MPAs on the high seas area may not be as grave as they seem, due to the legal framework imposed by contemporary international law, including the law of the sea.
Publication Year: 2012
Publication Date: 2012-03-01
Language: en
Type: article
Access and Citation
Cited By Count: 4
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