Key points
- Trump tries to increase America’s access to critical minerals
- Minerals used in aerospace, green technology and healthcare sectors
- US not a signatory to the Law of the Sea Convention
ISLAMABAD: China’s foreign ministry said on Friday that an executive order President Trump signed a day earlier to accelerate the permitting process for seabed mining in international waters “violates international law and harms the overall interests of the international community.”
Thursday’s order is the latest issued by the US president to try to increase America’s access to minerals used by the aerospace, green technology and healthcare sectors.
Polymetallic nodules
According to the BBC, the deep sea contains billions of tonnes of potato-shaped rocks, called polymetallic nodules, which are rich in critical minerals like cobalt and rare earths.
With the notable exception of the United States, nearly every country in the world is party to a treaty on marine and maritime activities that went into force in 1994, called the Law of the Sea Convention. That the United States has never ratified the treaty is in part what allowed Trump to unilaterally decide that the government could issue permits for mining the seabed in areas beyond American territorial jurisdiction.
“The US authorisation… violates international law and harms the overall interests of the international community,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said.
Hegemonic nature
Beijing, which has so far held off mining in international waters while awaiting ISA rules, warned Trump’s orders “once again expose the unilateral approach and hegemonic nature of the United States”.
Private companies and governments have long eyed the mineral and metal resources found in stretches of the ocean floor.
But they have mostly held off while waiting for the International Seabed Authority (ISA) regulator to devise rules — a process that began in the 1990s.
