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Unanimous Adoption of PRST on Maritime Security with Focus on UNCLOS Under India’s UNSC Presidency Message to China

The Presidential Statement on maritime security, adopted unanimously under India’s Presidency after the UN Security Council open debate chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has reaffirmed in categorical terms that the 1982 UN Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) sets out the legal framework for maritime activities, sending a strong message to China. “The high-level meeting in the UN Security Council on maritime security was a historic one in many ways,” India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador T S Tirumurti, said in a video message.

“Further in this Security Council meeting, for the first time a Presidential Statement on the holistic concept of maritime security was adopted. Besides piracy, armed robbery and transnational organised crime, the statement reaffirms in categorical terms that the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea 1982 sets out the legal framework for maritime activities,” Tirumurti said.

In the Presidential Statement (PRST), adopted unanimously by the 15-nation body, the Security Council reaffirms that “international law, as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 (UNCLOS), sets out the legal framework applicable to activities in the oceans, including countering illicit activities at sea.”

This is highly significant since it marks the first ever outcome document by the UNSC on the issue of maritime security. Also for the first time in the PRST there are references to UNCLOS, a convention over which China has had long-standing reservations and objections.

In 2016, an international tribunal ruled against China’s claims to rights in the disputed South China Sea. Beijing dismissed the ruling that favoured the Philippines and said it would not be bound by it.

As per practices, the “Presidential Statement has to be adopted unanimously. However, the process was not smooth, with one permanent veto-wielding UNSC member, China, resisting and holding out till the very end on language related to UNCLOS.

India’s negotiators were able to find language acceptable to all, without dropping reference to UNCLOS, which other four permanent countries the US, the UK, France and Russia insisted on retaining. This also reaffirms India’s bridging role in the Council. The unanimous adoption of the PRST on maritime security during India’s Presidency of the Council with the UNCLOS references meant China had to accept and sign off on it.

Significantly, Tirumurti also said that the Presidential Statement clearly acknowledges the threat of terrorists and the use of seas to conduct terrorist acts and crimes, like for example the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008. Freedom of navigation and safe and secure shipping is also acknowledged. It talks about trafficking of drugs, arms, and humans.”

“The Security Council acknowledges that terrorists may target vulnerable targets, including critical infrastructure and public places, and specifically the transportation sector, including seaports and maritime transport, as well as interconnected critical infrastructure which underlines the importance of enhanced cooperation to protect critical infrastructure, including cross-border infrastructure and calls upon Member States to implement relevant UN Security Council resolutions, the PRST said.

Tirumurti said overall the presidential statement seeks to protect legitimate activities while countering the threat of current and emerging hostile, illegal or dangerous acts within the maritime domain.

“I thank all Council members for their constructive engagement during the negotiations on the Presidential Statement, Tirumurti said. In the PRST, “the Security Council notes with concern the ongoing threats to maritime safety and security posed by piracy, armed robbery at sea, terrorists’ travel and use of sea to conduct crimes and acts against shipping, offshore installations, critical infrastructure, and other maritime interests.

“The Security Council notes the continuing problem of transnational organised crimes committed at sea, including illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, smuggling of migrants, trafficking in persons and illicit trafficking in firearms, and also notes the other illicit activities.

“The Security Council notes the deplorable loss of life and adverse impact on international trade, energy security and the global economy resulting from such activities and, in this regard, emphasizes the importance of safeguarding the legitimate uses of the oceans and the lives of people at sea, as well as the livelihoods and security of coastal communities.”

The US and China also clashed on the issue of South China Sea during the high-level meeting, with Washington asserting it has seen provocative actions to advance unlawful maritime claims in South China Sea and Beijing retorting that America is not qualified to make irresponsible remarks on the issue.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke of some of the critical areas where we see maritime rules and principles under threat. “In the South China Sea, we have seen dangerous encounters between vessels at sea and provocative actions to advance unlawful maritime claims, Blinken said, in a thinly-veiled attack on China which claims almost all of the 1.3 million square-mile South China Sea as its sovereign territory.

China has been building military bases on artificial islands in the region also claimed by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. China’s Deputy Permanent Representative Dai Bing, speaking last in the meeting, said that Mr President, I wish to point out that the Security Council is not the right place to discuss the issue of the South China Sea. The United States just mentioned the South China Sea issue and China firmly opposes this act.

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Source: News18