In testimony provided to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission on May 4, Isaac Kardon, senior fellow for China Studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, asserted the importance of the U.S. becoming involved in maritime law enforcement.
"If the United States is to succeed in maintaining a stable maritime order, we will have to invest in the law of the sea," Kardon said. "The current policy of adherence to customary international law does not meet the challenge posed by China in the present, competitive international environment. Our self- exemption from certain binding rules is too legalistic to provide leadership to the international community. Senate advice and consent on UNCLOS – as well as the new High Seas Treaty – would signal renewed American capability to bolster and rejuvenate the “rules-based international order” against cynical appeals to sovereign self-interest from China (and Russia)."
Kardon argued that the U.S. accepting maritime laws would be a strategic move, challenging China's dominance with little cost. China has proven itself to be skilled at showing "paper compliance" with various legal obligations and promoting entities and agreements that the U.S. currently avoids. But China's continued search for sea-based resources and strategic naval areas may contradict recent developments in sea laws. By quickly ratifying the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the High Seas Treaty, the U.S. could gain an important advantage in the growing competitive space.
Marine Insight stated that UNCLOS became effective in 1982 with the purpose of regulating marine operations so as to protect zoning and marine resources, as well as to provide and maintain international stability.
Kardon testified that China leverages its international law enforcement and policy execution in disputed maritime territories as a tactical approach to revising traditional maritime norms. This expression of China's self-asserted maritime rights has a strong influence in East Asia, noticed by the application of Chinese maritime statutes and regulations under the strategic guidance of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). This progression, referred to as "China's maritime law," is slowly altering the typical sea order within the region.
Kardon added that the pursuit of resource rights fuels maritime disputes with China, with Beijing's sea law preventing regional state governments from exploiting marine resources. China uses "gray zone" operations to challenge the goals of claimant states without the deployment of military forces. With that in mind, the U.S. emphasis on military navigation freedom in a region with no present commercial navigation threat is a misalignment. Instead, Kardon argued that the U.S. should prioritize non-navigational regulations because regional states lack the desire, capability or both to challenge China within its territorial seas.
Kardon has an extensive background in China studies with an emphasis on China's international influence, his biography on the Carnegie website said. He holds multiple degrees, including a Ph.D. in government from Cornell University. One of his areas of focus is maritime law, especially with regard to China.
