CHINA has warned against the United States (US) push to approve deep-sea mining in both domestic and international waters, claiming the move “violates international law.”
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Guo Jiakun, issued the warning on Friday, April 25, in response to a directive to expand deep-sea mining permits.
“The US authorisation violates international law and harms the overall interests of the international community,” Jiakun said.
The ICIR reports that President Donald Trump on Thursday, April 24, signed a controversial executive order intended to accelerate deep-sea mining activities both within the US and in international waters.
Thursday’s order is the latest move by the US president to boost the country’s access to minerals critical to the aerospace, green technology, and healthcare industries.
The deep sea is believed to hold billions of tonnes of potato-shaped rocks known as polymetallic nodules, which are rich in essential minerals such as cobalt and rare earth elements.
Governments and private companies have long shown interest in the mineral and metal resources scattered across the ocean floor.
However, most of them have been waiting patiently for the International Seabed Authority (ISA) to establish regulations, a process that has been underway since the 1990s.
Beijing, which has refrained from mining in international waters while awaiting the ISA’s regulations, has criticised Trump’s orders, stating they “once again highlight the unilateral approach and hegemonic tendencies of the United States.”
The latest order seems to bypass the ongoing UN negotiations regarding mining in international waters.
While the US, which is not a member of the UN-affiliated body, never gave formal consent to the treaty that empowered the ISA’s jurisdiction.
Like China, the European Union, United Kingdom and environmental organisations support deep-sea mining in international waters, but insisted that more research be done before any such activities proceed.
The ICIR reports that China leads the production of rare earths and essential metals such as cobalt and lithium.
Analysts said Trump had been frustrated by the relative weakness of the US position in this regard.
“We want the US to get ahead of China in this resource space under the ocean, on the ocean bottom,” a US official said on Thursday.
Trump’s order calls for Washington to become a “global leader” in seabed exploration and to “counter China’s expanding influence over seabed mineral resources.
The Trump administration estimates that deep-sea mining could increase the country’s GDP by $300 billion (£225 billion) over the next 10 years and generate 100,000 jobs.
The ICIR reported that Trump has continuously signed numerous executive orders since his resumption in office on January 20.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues.