Mike Huckabee, former Arkansas Governor and emerging GOP challenger, is pushing the Law of the Sea convention as, “one of the defining issues of our time.” He blasts the convention as a threat to U.S. freedom.
Huckabee’s viewpoint that the Law of the Sea, “threatens U.S. sovereignty and gives a U.N.-affiliated organization far too much authority over U.S. interests in international waters,” is spreading among GOP candidates. Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson have both now sided with this viewpoint.
The U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea creates international rules that govern navigation, conservation and seabed mining (primarily oil and gas extraction). It was originally negotiated between 1972 and 1982, revived under George H.W. Bush and sent to the senate by Clinton.
The convention has the support of top Republicans Richard G. Lugar and John McCain. Both site navigational freedom of the U.S. Navy as key to their backing. The White House is also in favor of ratifying the convention.
The convention was approved by the Senate Foreign Relations committee last week, and now may hit the senate floor this year. Climate warming and growing international expansion claims into Arctic waters are seen as one primary reason to ratify according to convention proponents.
