Select committee: International Relations and Defence Committee
Recommendation 58
2nd Report - UNCLOS: the law of the sea in the 21st century
Published 1 Mar 2022
Paragraph 328
International Relations and Defence Committee UNCLOS: fit for purpose in the 21st century? All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
Subsea cables are a critical element of the UK’s communications infrastructure. While UNCLOS places obligations on states to allow for the laying and repair of such cables, these are not always followed in practice. It is crucial that the laws are clear where responsibilities lie for the maintenance and protection of subsea cables. The international regulatory regime is unclear, and this must change, considering their significance. The Government should work with partners and others to address this. The UK should work to improve domestic legislation for cables in the UK’s territorial waters, as well as working with partners to strengthen the international regulatory regime.
From: International Relations and Defence Committee, 2nd Report - UNCLOS: the law of the sea in the 21st century, paragraph 328, 1 March 2022
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 9 June 2022 (deadline 27 May 2022).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Government agrees with parts of the Committee's report, including that UNCLOS was "a fundamental step forward", but disagrees on using the annual meetings of states parties for substantive issues and takes a cautious approach on fixing baselines.
- On amending UNCLOS, the Government says that doing so "would be very difficult to achieve and is not considered the most effective option", and is instead working through routes within the UNCLOS framework, including a new implementing Agreement.
- It states that it "does not agree" that the annual meeting of states parties is an appropriate forum for substantive issues, citing no consensus among states parties.
- On sea level rise, the Government "intends to take a cautious approach" to fixing baselines, stating its general view that baselines are ambulatory and that it will keep this position under review.
- On the 1986 Convention on Conditions for Registration of Ships, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency is in the early stages of reviewing the UK's position and aims to finish this study this year.