A new executive order from U.S. President Donald Trump calls for the federal government to expedite permits for companies that explore minerals mining on the ocean floor in both U.S. and international waters.
The Chinese government condemned the order on Friday, saying it "violates international law" and harms the interests of the international community. "The international seabed area covered by the U.S. executive order goes beyond the limit of national jurisdiction," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun told a regular press briefing on Friday.
"According to international law, the international seabed area and its resources are the common heritage of mankind," he said. "The exploration and exploitation of minerals in the international seabed area must be carried out in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and under the framework of the International Seabed Authority."
Trump said in his order signed on Thursday that vast offshore seabed areas hold critical minerals and energy resources that are key to "strengthening our economy, securing our energy future, and reducing dependence on foreign suppliers for critical minerals."
He ordered the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to take "immediate action to accelerate the responsible development of seabed mineral resources, quantify the nation’s endowment of seabed minerals, reinvigorate American leadership in associated extraction and processing technologies, and ensure secure supply chains for our defense, infrastructure, and energy sectors."
Specifically, NOAA was instructed to "expedite the process for reviewing and issuing seabed mineral exploration licenses and commercial recovery permits in areas beyond national jurisdiction" under a 1980 law. The U.S. Congress passed the law instead of ratifying the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, or UNCLOS, which permits all coastal countries to have control over Exclusive Economic Zones extending 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) from their coast.
Oceana, a Washington-based international advocacy organization focused solely on ocean conservation, said "irreparable harm" could result from U.S. officials developing an expedited process for issuing permits for exploration and development of seabed minerals in international waters and the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf under U.S. laws.
"This is a clear case of putting mining companies’ greed over common sense. Any attempt to accelerate deep sea mining without proper safeguards will only speed up the destruction of our oceans," said Katie Matthews, Oceana's chief scientist and senior vice president. "Seafood trade groups, biodiversity experts, and major corporations have all voiced support for a deep sea mining moratorium."
Parts of the ocean floor have polymetallic nodules that some companies hope to access through large-scale mining. The nodules contain metals and minerals such as cobalt, lithium and nickel needed for batteries, wiring and other uses in popular consumer and low-carbon technology.
The U.S. is the only major economy that is not a member of the International Seabed Authority, or ISA, comprised of 169 member nations plus the European Union. Every other major economy takes part in a system of international regulation toward the prospect of commercial seabed mining, which has not yet taken place.
The technology is still being developed and many environmental organizations argue that the prospect of allowing mining companies to gain access to deep sea deposits beneath international waters poses too many risks to underwater ecosystems and biodiversity.
'Lighting a match in a room full of dynamite'
Greenpeace has called for an outright ban. Other groups and some countries, including Canada, Germany, France, Spain, Brazil, New Zealand and Switzerland, have expressed support for either a moratorium or a ban. Some major corporations, like Apple, BMW, Google, Samsung and Volvo, have said they want to see a hold on mining until researchers better understand its effect on marine environments.
"Authorizing deep sea mining outside international law is like lighting a match in a room full of dynamite — it threatens ecosystems, global cooperation, and U.S. credibility all at once," Greenpeace's Arlo Hemphill said of Trump's executive order.
"We condemn this administration’s attempt to launch this destructive industry on the high seas in the Pacific by bypassing the United Nations process," he said. "This is an insult to multilateralism and a slap in the face to all the countries and millions of people around the world who oppose this dangerous industry."
The Kingston, Jamaica-based ISA is an autonomous international organization that operates under the authority of UNCLOS. Some 167 nations including China and Russia, plus the E.U., Palestine, Cook Islands, and Niue, have ratified UNCLOS – but not the U.S.
When UNCLOS took effect in 1994, it created three international organizations to manage ocean resources: ISA; Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf based in U.N. headquarters at New York; and International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Hamburg, Germany.
ISA has issued over 30 licenses for exploring, mainly in the Clarion Clipperton Zone of the Eastern Pacific between Mexico and Hawaii, but none yet for mining. The U.S. Geological Survey estimated the polymetallic nodules found in that area contain more cobalt, manganese and nickel than all land-based reserves.
In March, the Canada-based Metals Company, which has spent more than half a billion dollars on exploratory work, said it would ask the Trump administration to approve a mine in international waters.
"Looking back at our 16-year experience of the ISA brand of multilateralism, we believe the United States made the right decision when they chose not to ratify UNCLOS," the company said. "It’s a regulator willing to engage with the applicants and give their application a fair hearing. The ISA has neither the mining code nor the willingness to engage with their commercial contractors."
