March 24, 2024
National security leaders worry about U.S. failure to ratify Law of the Sea treaty
Thomas Shugart, a former U.S. Navy submarine warfare officer and a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, said being outside the treaty undercuts American credibility while China is laser-focused on building its maritime power. Shugart said China's deep sea miners have a second mission: collecting information for the Chinese military.
"If you're going to find submarines in the ocean, you need to know what the bottom looks like. You need to know what the temperature is. You need to know what the salinity is," Shugart said. "If China is using civilian vessels to sort of on the sly do those surveys, then that could improve their ability to find U.S. and allied submarines over time as they better understand that undersea environment."
Shugart also said China is flexing its maritime muscle by claiming the South China Sea as its private ocean.
The country has challenged the treaty's navigation laws that ensure safe passage by harassing passing ships, including the U.S. Navy. China has fired water cannons at its neighbors, caused collisions and even flashed a military-grade laser at ships.
Watch the full interview from CBS 60 Minutes.
More from CNAS
-
Saudi Arabia Halts Energy Sites as Houthis Claim New Attacks
Video
Becca Wasser, adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, joins Bloomberg to discuss the latest on the Iran War, control over the Strait of Hormuz, and th...
By Becca Wasser
-
Where Do We Go from Here?
Commentary
Introduction Over the past nine months, The New American Defense Industrial Base essay series has brought together a wide range of participants to deliver a variety of views o...
By Susanna V. Blume
-
Manufacturing a New National Security
Commentary
Introduction The United States sits atop the world’s pedestal of military superpowers—particularly when it comes to developing and employing the most sophisticated technology—...
By James Swartout & Nick Doucette
-
The Impossible Middle East
Commentary
The Middle East today has some thinking to do. It will need to draw up new ways to preserve its wealth, to pursue greater self-sufficiency, and to diversify—and even own—its s...
By Becca Wasser
