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The race to secure larger continental shelves
The deadline has past for many coastal States in their race to secure a larger continental shelf (seabed)
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The deadline has past for many coastal States in their race to secure a larger continental shelf (seabed). May 13, 2009 was the deadline for many States to submit information concerning the outer limits of their continental shelf to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) in New York.
By submitting the information, coastal States have the opportunity to secure rights to the seabed beyond 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) from their baseline (coast line), pursuant to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (Law of the Sea Convention, LOSC). For the many States that ratified the LOSC before May 13, 1999, (including Indonesia) the deadline was May 13, 2009. Meanwhile, other States, which ratified the LOSC after May 13, 1999, have 10 years after ratification.
By the time the deadline came, 50 complete and 41 preliminary submissions had been made by coastal States to the CLCS. Around 70 States were in the race to secure larger continental shelves, a reasonably surprising number given the fact that the procedure of the process is complicated and costly. For a coastal State to be entitled to a continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from its baseline, natural prolongation of the landmass has to be proven.
This requires the conduction of studies on seabed reliefs and sedimentary thickness, and this requires geodesy, geology, geophysics, hydrography experts, among others. This process is not only complicated but very expensive. A comprehensive survey may cost approximately Rp700 million (US$67,365) per day and one leg of a survey can take between two weeks and a month to complete.
On June 16, 2008, Indonesia became the first nation in Asia to submit its report on the outer limits of its continental shelf to CLSC. The report concerned the seabed area to the west of Sumatra, encompassing 3,915 square km of area beyond 200 nautical miles from its baseline. The submitted area is equal to the size of Madura Island. It was intended as a partial submission, which will be likely followed by two more submissions for other areas. The Indonesian team presented the proposal orally to the CLCS at the end of March 2009 and is now waiting for recommendations from the CLCS.
For a continental shelf that lies between two or more States, there is a potential overlapping entitlement. Submissions concerning continental a shelf in this situation may spark disputes. To avoid disputes, the States in question may make a coordinated or even joint submission to the CLSC. The first joint submission was lodged by the UK, Spain, France, and Ireland for the area of the Celtic Sea and the Bay of Biscay.
In the Asia Pacific, joint submissions were given by Vietnam with Malaysia as well as by the Federated States of Micronesia, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands for the Ontong Java Plateau area. In Africa, Mauritius and Seychelles made a joint submission for the Mascarene Plateau region. Should a joint submission be recommended by the CLCS, it is then the responsibility of the submitting States to finally divide the continental shelf among them.
It is anticipated that submission by coastal States may spark reactions from other, especially neighboring States. The executive summaries of submissions are made public on the CLCS website, so other States have a chance to respond. The submission by Australia, for example, sparked responses from several States, including the United States, because the submission includes the continental shelf of the Antarctic Territory, even though Australia requested the CLCS not to consider the Antarctic part of the submission.
India reacted to Indonesia's submission as they saw potential overlapping claims and suggest the submission be made without prejudice to the future seabed delimitation. An interesting, yet anticipated, response came from China to Vietnam and Malaysia's submissions, as they covered the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, the sovereignty of which is disputed by several States.
Among those submitting States, some have received recommendation from the CLCS. Australia, for example, managed to secure around 2.5 million square kilometers of new continental shelf. Australia is now significantly larger than it was before. Similarly, in 2008, it was recommended that New Zealand be allocated 1.7 million square kilometers of new seabed. Recommendations have also been given to Brazil, Ireland, Russia, Norway, and Mexico.
Based on the recommendation, those coastal States can now establish final and binding outer limits of their continental shelves. By the time all coastal States have delineated the outer limits of their continental shelves, the territorial map of the world will significantly change. Seabed areas that are currently *ownerless' will fall under the jurisdiction of specific States that will gain the right to utilize resources therein.
Two traditional seabed resources - oil and gas - are viewed as the biggest potential benefit of securing a larger continental shelf. However, other resources related to nutrition, medicine and cosmetics are becoming increasingly attractive and could be explored and exploited.
Consequently, the race to secure larger maritime areas will not only change the world map, but also future economic activities. For sovereign rights of nations on earth and the future of ocean management, May 13, 2009 represented an important historical moment.
The writer is a lecturer in the Department of Geodesy and Geomatics, Gadjah Mada University. He is currently an Australian Leadership Award Scholar (PhD candidate) at the University of Wollongong. This is his personal opinion.
