Foreword
In the vast expanse of our planet’s oceans, where depths conceal treasures and tensions alike, the governance of marine spaces has never been more pivotal. “Ocean Governance in the South Pacific and Latin America” emerges as a timely and indispensable contribution to this discourse, drawing on insights from the 47th Conference on Oceans and Policy in Lima, Peru. The annual Conference on Oceans Law and Policy (COLP) promotes interdisciplinary interaction with ocean-related legal and public policy issues at all levels, addressing international, national, regional, and State concerns, as well as industry and civil society perspectives. For nearly half a century, COLP has developed current ocean-related topics of utmost importance to the global community through its latest edition. The preceding conferences to this event were:
– 46th Annual COLP on “Safe, Secure, and Sustainable Shipping” in Istanbul, Türkiye (2023)
– 45th Annual COLP on “UNCLOS at 40” in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (2022)
– 44th Annual COLP on “Peaceful Maritime Engagement in East Asia and the Pacific Region” in Tokyo, Japan (2021)
The 47th Annual COLP was accomplished with a consortium of institutions, including the U.S. Naval War College – Stockton Center for International Law, the World Maritime University – Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute (WMU–GOI), and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Peru. Other supporting institutions include The Nippon Foundation, Gujarat Maritime University, the International Maritime Organization, Jon Van Dyke Institute for International Law and Justice, the Peruvian Navy, and the Peruvian Society of International Law. GOI–WMU, under the leadership of Professor Ronán Long, contributed significant vision to the project and supplied the lion’s share of the funding and administrative support to ensure a successful event under their Future Ocean Programme, sponsored by the Nippon Foundation. The Centre for Climate Change Law and Governance – University of Denmark, under the leadership of Beatriz Martinez Romera, also provided significant funding.
The Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA) sponsored this publication, making it available as an open-access resource. By covering the costs, JIIA has encouraged nations to avoid the dangerous expansion of “rule by force” into the maritime realm. JIIA supports a Free and Open Indo-Pacific and a stable global ocean order, and, by direction of Masao Kochi, provided this volume free of charge to promote efforts that emphasize the importance of dispute resolution based on international law and the maintenance of maritime order. In an era of increasing assertiveness at sea, open access to scholarly works like this promotes dialogue, builds consensus, and empowers policymakers, academics, and civil society to advocate for rule-based solutions over coercion in relation to oceans and maritime matters.
The South Pacific and Latin America, with their vast coastlines and exclusive economic zones (EEZs), are at the forefront of addressing global ocean challenges. These areas host diverse ecosystems, important fisheries, and unexplored mineral resources, while also facing pressures from climate change, overfishing, and geopolitical rivalries. At COLP 48, we focused on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction, Plastic Pollution Treaty Negotiations, Sustainable Fisheries and Marine Environmental Protection, Maritime Safety and Security, Future Oceans: Emerging Technologies and Digital Connectivity, Future Oceans: Ocean Governance, Human Rights and Non-State Actors, and the importance of National Laws and Policies. The Lima Conference convened a diverse range of world-leading experts to discuss these issues.
This volume explores the complex interactions of legal systems, environmental care, resource management, and geopolitical factors shaping maritime regions. As the world faces increasing competition for ocean resources – particularly the push for deep-sea mining – this book provides a guide to sustainable, fair governance grounded in international law.
From a Japanese perspective, as articulated by Captain Kentaro Furuya, a leading expert on maritime law enforcement and an adjunct professor at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), the challenges posed by illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing underscore the urgent need for robust, multilateral enforcement mechanisms in the South Pacific. Furuya, drawing on his extensive experience with the Japan Coast Guard, emphasizes that hybrid threats from state-sponsored maritime militias – such as those deployed by China in distant-water fisheries – erode the rule-based order essential for sustainable resource management. In the context of Latin American waters, where overfishing depletes stocks critical to coastal communities from Ecuador to Chile, he advocates for enhanced capacity-building through frameworks such as the Port State Measures Agreement. By integrating coast guard cooperation with regional bodies such as the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization, Furuya argues that small island nations and Latin American states can deter coercive practices, ensuring that ocean governance prioritizes equity and environmental protection over unilateral dominance. This perspective aligns seamlessly with JIIA’s commitment to a Free and Open Indo-Pacific, where law enforcement serves as a bulwark against the extension of terrestrial power plays into the maritime realm.
Complementing this, Professor Chisako T. Masuo of Kyushu University and JIIA Adjunct Fellow offers a nuanced view of China’s evolving ocean administration and its implications for global governance. Masuo highlights how Beijing’s centralization of maritime authority – through entities such as the former State Oceanic Administration – has amplified its assertive policies in the South China Sea, with ripple effects extending to the South Pacific and Latin America. At the Lima Conference, she examined how unchecked domestic governance models risk undermining UNCLOS principles by prioritizing national security over shared heritage. Yet Masuo sees opportunities for constructive engagement: China’s participation in ISA deliberations on deep-sea mining could, if guided by transparency, contribute to equitable benefit-sharing in regions like the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, which borders Latin American EEZs. She calls for diplomatic initiatives that leverage Japan’s bilateral ties with Peru and Pacific allies to foster dialogue on marine pollution treaties and biodiversity-related instruments. In doing so, Masuo reinforces the volume’s theme that dispute settlement through compulsory procedures under UNCLOS – rather than force – can harmonize competing interests, preserving the oceans as a global common for future generations and aligning with the worldwide order JIIA champions.
Professor Ronán Long, Director of the WMU-Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute and co-editor of this volume, provides a comprehensive overview of the progress and remaining challenges in South Pacific Ocean governance, as well as in relation to the BBNJ Agreement. Long’s research emphasizes the transformative potential of regional frameworks, such as the Pacific Islands Forum’s Blue Pacific Continent vision, which integrates climate resilience with maritime security. In Latin America, he highlights Peru’s prominent role in fisheries management and dispute resolution concerning maritime boundaries, as models for resolving competing claims in the South Pacific. At COLP47, his contributions focused on aligning domestic policies with law of the sea obligations. Long’s perspective underscores pathways for Latin American and Pacific nations more broadly to assert their agency in global forums and counter great-power rivalries through collaborative regional partnerships. This approach will safeguard the region’s biodiverse hotspots – from the Galápagos to the Salas y Gómez and Nazca Ridges – that define its maritime identity.
Consider the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ), a vast abyssal plain in the Pacific Ocean between Hawaii and Mexico. Spanning 4.5 million square kilometers – roughly the size of the European Union – this area contains an estimated 30 billion metric tons of nodules, worth trillions of dollars. Rich in manganese, nickel, copper, and cobalt, these resources could surpass land-based reserves, providing a hedge against terrestrial monopolies. However, as Kraska notes, the Democratic Republic of Congo controls 70% of global cobalt, Indonesia accounts for 40% of nickel, and China dominates 60% of rare earth elements (REEs) production and 90% of their refining. For Latin American countries like Chile, which produces 34% of the world’s lithium, and Mexico, located near the CCZ, seabed mining presents both opportunities and risks. Similarly, South Pacific island nations like Nauru, which are sponsoring exploration contracts, see potential economic lifelines amid concerns over sea-level rise and environmental degradation.
James Kraska’s analysis of deep-sea minerals in U.S.–China strategic rivalry highlights how the efforts of global powers intersect with regional interests. Kraska’s analysis emphasizes the high-stakes race for polymetallic nodules, seafloor massive sulfides, and cobalt-rich crusts, which could reshape supply chains for vital minerals needed for technology, renewable energy, and defense. This competition is about more than economics; it has significant geostrategic consequences. The United States, which imports all of its 15 critical minerals and depends on China for 80% of its rare earth elements (REEs), sees the seabed as a key route to diversify supply chains. Initiatives like the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act and the FY25 National Defense Authorization Act highlight this, requiring studies on nodule refining for defense purposes. Meanwhile, China’s aggressive stance – securing multiple exploration contracts through the International Seabed Authority (ISA) and opposing marine conservation talks – reflects its broader maritime ambitions in the Indo-Pacific region. Beijing’s restrictions on the export of graphite, germanium, gallium, and antimony in 2023 and 2024 have increased concerns, leading U.S. lawmakers to call deep-sea mining a “new front in the competition with China.” As we navigate the uncertainties of 2025 and beyond, amid geopolitical tensions from the Taiwan Strait to the Arctic, the oceans must not become arenas for unchecked rivalry. Innovations like phytomining – using plants to extract minerals – or recycling REE s from e-waste offer alternatives, as Kraska suggests. DARPA’s EMBER program and DoD’s mine-to-magnet initiatives signal a shift toward resilient supply chains, but they must integrate environmental safeguards.
In contrast, Norway’s approval of seabed mining and China’s push for expedited licenses highlight divergent approaches. Nauru’s partnership with The Metals Company (TMC) to apply for exploitation permits by 2025 – ahead of the ISA’s Mining Code finalization in July 2025 – underscores the urgency for small island states. For Latin America, Mexico and Chile’s involvement in lithium and copper markets ties into broader ocean governance, where EEZ disputes and illegal fishing compound resource pressures. The book explores how regional mechanisms, such as the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization and the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, can complement global regimes.
However, we temper enthusiasm with caution. Environmental concerns are significant, as mining activities could harm delicate ecosystems. Sediment plumes from nodule collection might release toxins like mercury and lead, covering large areas and potentially threatening species in hydrothermal vents and seamounts. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences estimates that daily discharges are equivalent to a 16-mile freight train, with projections suggesting that amount could triple. In the South Pacific, where countries like Fiji and Tonga rely on healthy oceans for their livelihoods, such impacts could worsen climate vulnerabilities. Latin American countries, from Brazil’s Amazonian outflows to Ecuador’s efforts to protect the Galápagos Islands, face similar challenges in balancing resource extraction with conserving biodiversity.
The international legal framework, centered on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), provides the bedrock for addressing these challenges. UNCLOS designates the deep seabed beyond national jurisdiction as the “common heritage of mankind,” and places it under the management of the ISA. By 2025, there are 153 parties to the 1994 Agreement relating to the Implementation of Part XI of the Convention which concerns seabed mining of the International Seabed Area. The Authority has issued 31 exploration contracts, including 19 for polymetallic nodules, predominantly in the CCZ. However, as Kraska details, regulatory progress is fraught with challenges. The ISA’s March 2024 negotiations advanced but left unresolved issues like royalty structures and environmental funds. A growing coalition of 37 nations, including France and Germany, advocates a moratorium or precautionary pause on commercial exploitation, echoing calls from scientists and organizations such as the Ocean Conservancy and Greenpeace. Major corporations – BMW, Rivian, Apple, and Google – have pledged to avoid deep-sea-sourced materials, signaling market-driven restraint.
Beyond minerals, the volume addresses broader governance themes. Maritime boundary disputes, like those in the Beagle Channel between Argentina and Chile, or overlapping claims in the South Pacific, demand peaceful resolution under international law. Climate-induced migration of fish stocks challenges traditional allocations, while plastic pollution and ocean acidification threaten ecosystems from the Galápagos to the southern extensions of the Great Barrier Reef. The Free and Open Indo-Pacific vision, championed by Japan and allies, emphasizes freedom of navigation, sustainable development, and rule-based order – principles that counter coercive tactics seen in the South China Sea.
JIIA’s commitment to open access aligns with this ethos. By democratizing knowledge, we empower stakeholders in the South Pacific and Latin America – often underrepresented in global forums – to engage meaningfully. Small nations like Nauru or Latin American States such as Peru can leverage their positions with larger powers around the common themes of shared responsibilities. The book’s emphasis on dispute settlement mechanisms, such as arbitration under UNCLOS Annex VII, reinforces that maritime order thrives on dialogue, not dominance.
Ultimately, “Ocean Governance in the South Pacific and Latin America” is more than a scholarly compendium; it is a call to action. It urges states to prioritize sustainability, equity, and the rule of law in harnessing the blue economy. By highlighting successes like Chile’s marine protected areas and the Pacific Islands Forum’s regional cooperation, it inspires confidence that collaborative governance can prevail. JIIA is proud to support this endeavor, fostering a world where the rule of law guides our shared oceanic heritage.
James Kraska
Ronán Long