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THE MARITIME DIMENSION OF NWFZs:
RELEVANCE TO A NE ASIA NWFZ
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• The Seabed Arms Control Treaty (or Seabed Treaty) is
a multilateral agreement between the United States,
Soviet Union, United Kingdom, and 84 other countries
banning the emplacement of nuclear weapons or
"weapons of mass destruction" on the ocean floor
beyond a 12-mile (22.2 km) coastal zone.
• It allows signatories to observe all seabed "activities"
of any other signatory beyond the 12-mile zone in
order to ensure compliance.
• The full name of the treaty is the Treaty on the
Prohibition of the Emplacement of Nuclear Weapons
and other Weapons of Mass Destruction on the SeaBed and the Ocean Floor and in the Subsoil Thereof.
• In force 18 May 1972
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KEY
PROVISIONS
Convinced that this Treaty constitutes a step towards the
exclusion of the seabed, the ocean floor and the subsoil
thereof from the arms race,
Convinced that this Treaty will further the purposes and
principles of the Charter of the United Nations, in a manner
consistent with the principles of international law and without
infringing the freedoms of the high seas,
Have agreed as follows:
Article I
1. The States Parties to this Treaty undertake not to emplant
or emplace on the seabed and the ocean floor and in the
subsoil thereof beyond the outer limit of a seabed zone, as
defined in article II, any nuclear weapons or any other types
of weapons of mass destruction as well as structures,
launching installations or any other facilities specifically
designed for storing, testing or using such weapons.
2. The undertakings of paragraph 1 of this article shall also
apply to the seabed zone referred to in the same paragraph,
except that within such seabed zone, they shall not apply
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either to the coastal State or to the seabed beneath its
EMBED OR EMPLACE
WHAT ABOUT CREEPY
CRAWLIES?
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• SOUTH KOREA IS SERIOUS ABOUT ITS LATEST PROJECT:
DEVELOPING AQUATIC ROBOTS BY 2016 WHICH CAN
SWIM AND CRAWL THEIR WAY ACROSS THE SEAFLOOR
SEVERAL MILES DOWN—FOR SEARCH AND RESCUE—
OTHER APPLICATIONS?
• THE GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCED TODAY THAT IT
WOULD SPEND ABOUT $18 MILLION (20 BILLION WON)
OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS TO CREATE ITS CREEPYCRAWLY ROBOT
• SUCH SIX-LEGGED DEVICES WOULD WALK AT SPEEDS
OF 98 FEET PER SECOND AND SWIM AT UP TO 59 FEET
PER SECOND. THE DESIGN SPECS CALL FOR IT TO
PATROL THE SEABED AT DEPTHS OF ABOUT 3.7 MILES.
• A SHALLOW-SEA VERSION WOULD COME ONLINE BY
2012, WITH A DEEP-SEA PROTOTYPE SLATED FOR 2015.
THE ROBOTS WOULD ALSO CARRY SONAR EQUIPMENT,
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LOTS OF GAPS AND LOOPHOLES
• SEABED--CREEPY CRAWLIES
• WATER COLUMN—SUBMARINES ; ALSO AUV—
THAT IS AUTONOMOUS ROVING OR SLEEPING
NUCLEAR TORPEDOES OR MISSLES
• AIR ABOVE
• TERRITORIAL SEA SEABED
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Zone of Application of the Treaty of Tlatelolco
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DIALECTIC
PROTOCOL II
Article 2:
The Governments represented by the undersigned
Plenipotentiaries undertake, therefore, not to contribute in any
way to the performance of acts involving a violation of the
obligations of Article 1 of the Treaty in the territories to which the
Treaty applies in accordance with Article 4 thereof.
IN FORCE 23 OCTOBER 2002
ALL FIVE NUCLEAR WEAPONS POWERS HAVE RATIFIED BUT ON DOING
SO ISSUED STATEMENTS THAT THEY WOULD NOT ALLOW THEIR
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION TO BE RESTRICTED—THUS NW BEARING
SUBMARINES VIOLATE THE ZONE AND IT IS NIGH IMPOSSIBLE TO
DETECT OR ENFORCE THE ZONE AGAINST THEM –THUS IT IS
INEFFECTIVE
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TREATY OF RAROTONGA
IN FORCE 11 DECEMBER 1986
• ARTICLE 5 BANS STATIONING OF NWS BUT
APPLIES ONLY TO THE TERRITORIES OF THE
SIGNATORIES (LAND AND TERRITORIAL SEA AND
AIRSPACE ABOVE) NOT TO THE LARGER ZONE
• EACH PARTY CAN ALLOW TRANSIT AND PORT
VISITS– NO CLEAR INTENT TO PROHIBIT PASSAGE
OF NUCLEAR ARMED VESSELS AND AIRCRAFT
• PROTOCOLS RATIFIED BY ALL NPS EXCEPT US
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BANGKOK TREATY
MOST COMPREHENSIVE VIS A VIS
MARITIME DOMAIN
ONLY NWFZ TREATY EXTENDING SPECIFICALLY TO EEZS AND
CONTINENTAL SHELVES
REDUNDANT ON PURPOSE
• Entered into Force: 28 March 1997.
• Number of Parties: Ten full members ─ Brunei Da-russalam,
Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
• None of the nuclear weapon states (NWS) has yet signed the
protocols, largely due to U.S. and French objections regarding the
unequivocal nature of security assurances and over the definitions
of territory, including exclusive economic zones (EEZ).
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IMPORTANT PROVISIONS
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Article 2 APPLICATION OF THE TREATY 1. This Treaty and its Protocol shall apply to
the territories (including archipelagic waters), continental shelves, and EEZ of the
States Parties within the Zone in which the Treaty is in force.
2. Nothing in this Treaty shall prejudice the rights or the exercise of these rights by
any State under the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the
Sea of 1982, in particular with regard to freedom of the high seas, rights of
innocent passage, archipelagic sea lanes passage or transit passage of ships and
aircraft, and consistent with the Charter of the United Nations.
Article 3 BASIC UNDERTAKINGS 1. Each State Party undertakes not to, anywhere
inside or outside the Zone:
(a) develop, manufacture or otherwise acquire, possess or have control over
nuclear weapons; (b) station or transport nuclear weapons by any means; or
(c) test or use nuclear weapons.
2. Each State Party also undertakes not to allow, in its territory, any other State
to: (a) develop, manufacture or otherwise acquire, possess or have control over
nuclear weapons; (b) station nuclear weapons; or
(c) test or use nuclear weapons.
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Article 7
• Article 7 FOREIGN SHIPS AND AIRCRAFT Each State Party, on being
notified, may decide for itself whether to allow visits by foreign
ships and aircraft to its ports and airfields, transit of its airspace by
foreign aircraft, and navigation by foreign ships through its
territorial sea or archipelagic waters and overflight of foreign
aircraft above those waters in a manner not governed by the rights
of innocent passage, archipelagic sea lanes passage or transit
passage.
• WHAT IF NOT NOTIFIED ? EG BOOMERS PASSING THRU
INDONESIAN STRAITS AND ARCHIPELAGIC SEALANES
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MONITORING IMPLEMENTATION
• Article 8 ESTABLISHMENT OF THE COMMISSION
FOR THE SOUTHEAST ASIA NUCLEAR WEAPONFREE ZONE
• 1. There is hereby established a Commission for
the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone,
hereinafter referred to as the "Commission".
• 3. The function of the Commission shall be to
oversee the implementation of this Treaty and
ensure compliance with its provisions.
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ENTIRE SOUTH CHINA SEA IS A
NUCLEAR WEAPON FREE ZONE
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INDONESIA’S EXTENDED CONTINENTAL
SHELF CLAIM IN THE INDIAN OCEAN
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IMPLIES THAT NW CAN NOT BE LAUNCHED
FROM THE SOUTH CHINA SEA
• BUT IT DOES NOT PREJUDICE FREEDOM OF
NAVIGATION, OR INNOCENT , TRANSIT OR
ARCHIPELAGIC SEA LANE PASSAGE, OR PORT
VISITS—
• AND WHEN ONE COMBINES THAT WITH
SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY THERE ARE PRETTY TIGHT
PROTECTIONS FOR THE NUCLEAR POWERS
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NEGATIVE SECURITY ASSURANCE
• The treaty includes a protocol for the five
nuclear-weapon states recognized under the NPTChina, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and
the United States-to sign and ratify. These
protocols, which are legally binding, call upon the
nuclear-weapon states to respect the status of
the zones and not to use or threaten to use
nuclear weapons against treaty states-parties.
Such declarations of non-use of nuclear weapons
are referred to as negative security assurance.
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CHINA AND THE TREATY OF BANGKOK
• Initially, China stated its support for the Treaty of Bangkok, but did not sign
the protocol on security assurances to the Treaty's signatories. For years,
China stated its objection to the fact that the geographical scope of the
zone includes portions of the South China Sea, which China claims as its
territorial waters. On 7 December 1995, Chinese Foreign Ministry
spokesman Chen Jian stated that "China has enjoyed long-term friendship
and cooperation with Southeast Asian countries so in principle we support
the establishment of an East Asian nuclear-free area." Chen further stated,
however, that "As for whether the geographical area of this nuclear-free
area includes the continental shelf or exclusive economic zones, China and
other countries have their own positions”
• However, in July 1999 at the annual ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) meeting
in Singapore, China's Foreign Minister announced that China would sign
the protocol to the Southeast Asian Nuclear Weapon Free Zone Treaty
(SEANFZ). China is the only declared nuclear weapons state to indicate its
intention to sign the protocols to this treaty. To my knowledge it has not
yet done so.
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• THE PROTOCOLS PLEDGE SIGNATORIES TO
PROTECT THE STATUS OF THE ZONE AND TO
REFRAIN FROM USING OR THREATENING TO USE
NW AGAINST THE STATES IN THE ZONE
• THE US OPPOSES THE TREATY BECAUSE OF
TRANSIT CONCERNS AND BECAUSE IT DOESN’T
WANT A THIRD PARTY ENEMY SEEKING REFUGE
IN THE ZONE
• SUBMARINES AND US TRIAD OF NUCLEAR
WEAPONS—THAT WAS THEN –IS IT USING THE
SAME SHELL GAME VIS A VIS CHINA –PERHAPS –
AND PERHAPS THAT IS WHAT THE IMPECCABLE
WAS ABOUT
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NORTHEAST ASIA
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POSSIBLE TREATY PROVISIONS
. INCLUDE BOTH EEZS AND SHELVES
• START WITH PORT VISIT BANS
• ALSO BAN USE OF ZONE FOR FIRING AGAINST
THIRD PARTIES
• THEN BAN NWS FROM INNOCENT PASSAGE (IN
TERRITORIAL SEAS) AS A THREAT OF USE OF
FORCE (INTIMIDATION) BECAUSE THEY ARE
BEING DEPLOYED IE MADE READY FOR USE
• MALAYSIA HAS BANNED IN THEORY NWS FROM
MALACCA STRAIT
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• THE MOST DIFFICULT IS TRANSIT—BUT WITH
IT NWFZS ARE INEFFECTIVE
• CAN TRY TO BAN TRANSIT AS A NONPEACEFUL USE OF THE OCEANS—
• BUT THIS IS UNLIKELY;US NEITHER CONFIRMS
NOR DENIES;SUBMARINES COULD NOT BE
DETECTED; COULDN’T ENFORCE IT UNLESS
ASSISTED BY HIGH TECH POWER
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According to UNGA Guidelines:
• The arrangements should be in conformity with the principles and
rules of international law, including the UN Convention on the Law of the
Sea.
• States parties to a nuclear-weapon-free zone exercising their sovereign
rights and without prejudice to the purposes and objectives of such a zone
remain free to decide for themselves whether to allow visits by foreign ships
and aircrafts to their ports and airfields; allow transit of their airspace by
foreign aircraft, and navigation by foreign ships in or over their territorial
sea, archipelagic waters or straits that are used for international navigation,
while fully honouring the rights of innocent passage, archipelagic sea lane
passage or transit passage in straits that are used for international navigation.
THIS IS INTERNALLY CONTRADICTORY
SO IT SEEMS ONE NEEDS TO GO BACK TO THE GA –OR TO START STATE BY
STATE OR SMALL GROUPS OF STATES TO ERODE THE TRANSIT PROVISIONS
BUT THIS WILL BE FOUGHT TOOTH AND NAIL BY THE NWS POWERS
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LONG WAY TO GO
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