Why doesn't U.S. join Law of the Sea treaty?
- United States
- 08/26/2008
There is enough oil in the Arctic to meet world demand for almost three years. And the amount of natural gas in the region is even greater, potentially rivaling the reserve held by Russia, which was previously thought to be the world’s largest. Not only does every Arctic nation know that the melting ice caps are opening up new resources in these waters, but they all have done at least something about it, staking their claim in some way to what many believe is an economic treasure chest of energy reserves. That is, every nation except the United States. The US remains the only major industrialized nation that has not signed the Law of the Sea treaty. As a result, we do not have a seat at the table, or a say in other nations’ efforts to extend their continental boundaries in the Arctic and elsewhere. This prevents us from laying a legitimate claim to our share of valuable resources.
