Free Republic

The Yomiuri Shimbun Japan has obtained exclusive mineral exploration rights for rare metals and other resources on the seabed about 600 kilometers southeast of Tokyo’s Minami-Torishima island. It is the first time in 26 years that Japan has obtained mineral exploration rights on the high seas. In an announcement Saturday, the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry said it would begin full-fledged exploration next fiscal year at the earliest. To obtain exclusive exporation rights, a nation must first gain the approval of the United Nations’ International Seabed Authority. The U.N. authority gave its approval Friday, and the government is expected to...

Saying that the Joint Chiefs and combatant commanders “strongly support” ratification of the Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST), General Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has stated that the measure “ensures the ability of the US Armed Forces to operate freely across the vast expanse of the world’s oceans under the authority of widely recognized and accepted international law.” [1] But would our military leaders support the treaty if they knew that the activists behind it were also instrumental in promoting the International Criminal Court (ICC), which could prosecute and imprison American troops and military...

Should the U.N. be lord of the oceans? Posted: February 28, 2005 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2005 Creators Syndicate, Inc. "Sovereignty. The issue is huge. The mere mention of Kofi Annan in the U.N. caused the crowd to go into a veritable fit. The coalition wants America strong and wants the American flag flying overseas, not the pale blue of the U.N." So George W. Bush confided to friend Doug Wead before he declared his candidacy. And, twice, President Bush has acted to defend U.S. sovereignty against the encroachments of global government. He rejected both the International Criminal Court, which...