US Establishes ‘Marine Protected Area,’ Muddies Boundary of International Waters

The Obama administration announced on June 17 that the U.S. would create the world’s largest marine protected area in the Central Pacific Ocean. This would expand the 87,000 square miles of reef area currently under American control to 782,000 square miles, extending the width of the protected area to 200 miles out at sea. The U.S. will prohibit fishing, resource development and other activities inside the protected region, including areas near certain remote uninhabited islands.

The U.S. establishment of a large-scale marine protected area is a novel move for the world, and there is uncertainty as to how it may be in accordance with international laws. The U.S. has not yet joined the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Its approval for establishing a marine protected area seems to make up for the 200-mile exclusive economic zone which is off limits to those countries that are not parties to the convention. As to whether the U.S. has a separate agenda, the world will have to wait and see.

Protecting the ocean is quite a noble reason, but even a good Samaritan has to comply with international laws. The U.S. seems to be purposely approving a “marine protection” that exceeds certain restrictions, creating a 782,000-square mile special reality at sea, and making its own presence in the Pacific Ocean more expansive and involved.

Discussions on the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement are currently in full swing. And the U.S. is now announcing the marine protected area in the Central Pacific. With much of the world media simultaneously reporting on these two actions by the United States, people can vaguely sense that they certainly are interrelated.

Regarding international affairs, the U.S. has the world’s strongest strategic design and implementation capacity. Standing at the top of international politics, the U.S. can see some things that other countries cannot, while keeping hidden certain things that it wants to remain secret. Questioning the U.S. requires strength and courage to withstand retaliation. As a result, although sensing selfish motives from the United States, many countries cannot overcome them.

Even facing potential challenges, China should urge the international community to demand an explanation from the U.S. on its declaration of a marine protected area. Although this behavior extends to international waters, this area was not a U.S.-exclusive economic zone. The U.S. needs to tell the world which international law it was in accordance with in order to justify its actions.

Japan comprises perhaps the first wave of victims. Japanese people love tuna, and many of those fish are caught in that area. The direct impact on China is currently minimal, but the future is uncertain. The U.S. continues to interfere with China’s sovereignty over the East China Sea. If China wants to acquire a bargaining chip on the U.S. maritime conflict, now is not a bad opportunity.

China suggests the establishment of a new type of “great-power” relations with the United States. The U.S. has also said this many times in the past. However, it is unclear how aligned the intention of the Americans is with the definition of the Chinese. We feel that while both countries have described an expansive Pacific that can completely accommodate the two great powers, the U.S. attitude was not sufficiently sincere. The U.S. is on high alert over China’s naval activities. In response to the Chinese navy’s occasional appearance outside the first island chain, the U.S. always opines and echoes Japan’s dissatisfaction.

American military bases and the islands controlled by them are scattered in all directions of the Pacific Ocean. The U.S. is certainly heading toward increasing its control over the entire ocean, given its plans around those bases and islands. If the U.S. can arbitrarily change the definition of international waters, and each time the outside world mutters not a single word, this can be detrimental to the world, as well as China in the long run.