Nations Racing To Claim Pieces Of The Ocean Floor

In the past, laying claim to the ocean floor seemed about as possible and effective as laying claim to the space in the sky reserved for rolling clouds. These days, however, technology such as 3D image mapping has advanced so far that nations around the globe have become capable of studying underwater caves, deep-sea canyons, and other features of the depths from afar. Doing so has led explorers and researchers to vie for precious resources beneath the waves, prompting governments to section off pieces of the ocean floor for their own private use.

Japan seems to be the most voracious nation to engage in this practice, having proposed itself responsible for over 615 underwater zones since the year 2000. Other nation-states that have demanded their claim to parts of the ocean floor include the United States, France, Russia, New Zealand, China, and others. While most of these demands have been handed down in the last 20 years, such declarations seem to have been increasing exponentially since 2016.

Canadian geographer Sergei Basik has discussed the process at length and has even coined the term “bathyonyms” to describe the undersea features most appealing to the nations who are performing this scramble for ocean floor ownership. Basik also explained that owning large swaths of this previously unclaimable land has an additional economic purpose, as nations responsible for the sea floor can mine its resources with exclusivity and charge a premium when selling these goods to foreign partners.

For now, these claims of ownership are little more than verbal declarations, as the legal definition for owning parts of the ocean floor has not been fully fleshed out in an international agreement. At the time of this writing, the closest thing we have as a global agreement on the sea floor is the International Hydrographic Organization, which outlines a variety of nautical laws for international vessels. Still, Basik and other researchers have warned that the scramble for the soil beneath the waves could lead to massive problems in the future.

For starters, countries around the world have already been overfishing, mining with reckless abandon, and destroying underwater ecosystems all over the globe for many years. Once China, Russia, the United States, and more begin laying exclusive claims to certain sections of the ocean floor, what’s to stop these nations from placing economic value over environmental safety? Furthermore, this process could have horrific implications in wars of the future, as it could allow countries such as China and the United States to expand their sovereignty claims deep into the Pacific.