South China Sea: US will ensure ‘all nations can benefit’ from resource-rich international waters, top navy admiral says

Admiral Michael Gilday told a media round table in Singapore that the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea was ‘enforceable’ and ‘unambiguous’

The top US navy officer’s comments follow the Pentagon chief’s reiteration that Washington views China’s South Sea claims as illegitimate

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US Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Michael Gilday, in Washington last month. Photo: TNS

Published: 9:44pm, 28 Jul 2021Updated: 10:58pm, 28 Jul 2021

International law and legal customs that govern the high seas have the full support of the United States, which will work with partners in Asia to ensure that all nations can “equitably” benefit from marine resources, the US navy’s top admiral said on Wednesday.

The comments in Singapore by Admiral Michael Gilday, Chief of Naval Operations, came a day after US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin underscored Washington’s long-standing position that China’s vast claims of the South China Sea had no basis in international law.

Gilday, speaking during a media round table, said the US Navy operated under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos), adding that the law was “enforceable”, “unambiguous” and had lifted societies out of poverty.

The US, unlike China, is not among the 168 nations that have ratified the 1982 law, but abides by it and views it as the customary law of the high seas.

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The South China Sea dispute explained

Among other things, Unclos standardised how countries demarcate their territorial seas, up to 12 nautical miles from their coasts, and more expansive exclusive economic zones (EEZs) that extend up to 200 nautical miles. States have sole rights to drill, fish and mine in their respective EEZs.