MASTERARBEIT / MASTER’S THESIS Titel der Masterarbeit / Title of the Master‘s Thesis „Legal and Political Aspects of the Beaufort Sea Maritime Boundary Dispute between The United States of America and Canada“ verfasst von / submitted by Mykhaylo Palahitskyy, BA BA angestrebter akademischer Grad / in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts (MA) Wien, 2016 / Vienna 2016 Studienkennzahl lt. Studienblatt / A 066 805 degree programme code as it appears on the student record sheet: Studienrichtung lt. Studienblatt / Globalgeschichte und Global Studies degree programme as it appears on the student record sheet: Betreut von / Supervisor: ao. Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Friedrich Edelmayer, MAS Acknowledgements I would like to thank my advisor Professor Dr. Friedrich Edelmayer for guiding and supporting me over the years. Special thanks go to my parents, friends and fellow graduate students who constantly encouraged and motivated me. 2 Contents 1. INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................. 7 2. THE LAW OF THE SEA ................................................................................................ 10 2.1. Division of the Ocean ....................................................................................................... 10 2.2. USA and UNCLOS .......................................................................................................... 16 3. NATURAL RESOURCES IN THE BEAUFORT SEA ............................................... 18 4. HISTORY AND EVOLUTION OF THE BEAUFORT MARITIME DISPUTE ...... 22 5. RELEVANT UNRESOLVED DISPUTES IN THE ARCTIC .................................... 30 6. NATIONAL ARCTIC STRATEGIES ........................................................................... 40 6.1. Canada’s Arctic Strategy ................................................................................................ 40 6.2. United States of America’s Arctic Strategy ................................................................... 45 6.3. Policies to resolve the Beaufort Sea boundary dispute ................................................. 49 6.3.1. United States of America‘s current position............................................................... 49 6.3.2. Canada‘s current position ........................................................................................... 51 7. RELEVANT FACTORS IN THE DISPUTE SETTLEMENT PROCESS ................ 53 7.1. Role of the indigenous population in the dispute settlement process .......................... 58 7.2. Relevance of Geography .................................................................................................. 63 7.3. Relevance of Climate Change in the Arctic ................................................................... 67 7.4. Intergovernmental cooperation in the Arctic ................................................................ 71 8. FUTURE SCENARIOS ................................................................................................... 77 9. CONCLUSIONS .............................................................................................................. 84 10. BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................ 86 3 Abstract This Master Thesis analyzes the Beaufort Sea maritime boundary dispute between the United States of America and Canada that has remained unresolved for many years. Canada claims the maritime boundary to be along the 141st meridian west out to a distance of 370 km, following the Alaska-Yukon land border. On the contrary, the position of the United States is that the boundary line is perpendicular to the coast out to a distance of 370 km, following a line of equidistance from the coast. This difference creates a wedge with an area of about 21,000 km2 that is claimed by both nations and contains a great amount of natural resources. The objective of this paper is to examine the legal and political aspects of the dispute, the strategies of both disputing parties and the future scenarios of a possible evolution of the dispute. The guiding research question targets the evolution of the dispute and the efforts of the USA and Canada to resolve it. This master thesis familiarizes the reader with relevant aspects of the law of the sea. Further, the integration of the two neighboring countries into the global legal regime established by the law of the sea will be explored to deepen the understanding of the dispute. Since the Beaufort Sea is a part of the Arctic region, the Arctic engagement of both countries will be analyzed along with other interlinked border disputes between Canada and the USA. Finally, this paper identifies the contributing and complicating factors in the dispute settlement process and evaluates the spheres of possible cooperation in the Beaufort Sea despite the boundary dispute. This thesis contains an interdisciplinary approach to analyzing the dispute. This paper is written from a point of view of an uninvolved third-party and remains neutral by taking an unengaged position while exploring the dispute. It is hoped that this unengaged position may reveal new perspectives on the conflict and its eventual resolution. 4 Abstrakt Die vorliegende Masterarbeit analysiert den Grenzstreit zwischen den Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika und Kanada in der Beaufortsee, der seit vielen Jahren ungelöst bleibt. Kanada beansprucht die Seegrenze entlang des 141. westlichen Meridians bis zu einer Entfernung von 370 km nach der Alaska-Yukon Landgrenze. Im Gegensatz dazu ist die Position der Vereinigten Staaten, dass die Grenzlinie bis zu einer Entfernung von 370 km perpendikulär zur Küste nach dem Prinzip der Äquidistanz verläuft. Dieser Unterschied erzeugt einen Keil mit einer Fläche von etwa 21.000 km2, die von beiden Staaten beansprucht wird und eine große Menge von Rohstoffen lagert. Das Ziel dieser Arbeit ist die rechtlichen und politischen Aspekte des Konflikts zu analysieren, die Strategien der beiden streitenden Parteien darzustellen und künftige Szenarien einer möglichen Weiterentwicklung des Grenzstreits zu prüfen. Die Hauptforschungsfrage zielt auf die Entwicklung des Grenzstreits und die Bemühungen der USA und Kanada ihren Streit zu lösen. Diese Masterarbeit versucht die Leserinnen und Leser mit den relevanten Aspekten des Seerechts vertraut zu machen. Um ein tieferes Verständnis über den Grenzstreit zu vermitteln, wird die Integration der beiden Nachbarländer in das globale Rechtssystem analysiert, das auf dem aktuellen Seerecht basiert. Da die Beaufortsee ein Teil der arktischen Region ist, wird die Teilnahme beider Länder an den internationalen Angelegenheiten der Arktis untersucht und die anderen verwandten Grenzstreitigkeiten zwischen Kanada und den USA dargestellt. Schließlich werden die beitragenden und erschwerenden Faktoren im Konfliktlösungsprozess präsentiert und mögliche Bereiche der weiteren Zusammenarbeit in der Beaufortsee trotz des Grenzstreites vorgeschlagen. Diese Masterarbeit verfolgt einen interdisziplinären Ansatz und wurde aus einer unbeteiligten und neutralen Sicht geschrieben. Es wird gehofft, dass die neutrale Position bei der Konfliktforschung neue Perspektiven und auf den Grenzschreit in der Beaufortsee bringen und zur eventuellen Konfliktlösung beitragen wird. 5 THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK 6 1. Introduction The Arctic is a region of vast opportunities and challenges for the United States of America, Canada and the whole world. The North of our planet has long been neglected; however, due to the climate change and the melting of the Arctic ice, politics are giving more and more attention to the region. The enormous amount of natural resources, primarily oil and gas, as well as the new transportation routes through the ice-free Arctic in the near future are a reasonable incentive for governments to act. One of the major Arctic issues is the sovereignty. ―Who owns the Arctic?‖ – is a vehemently debated question among Canada, the United States of America, the Russian Federation, Denmark (through Greenland) and Norway. Currently, those countries are actively increasing their capacity to protect and exercise their sovereign rights in the Arctic. At the same time, a number of areas north of the Arctic Circle remain disputed. One of them is a triangle in the Beaufort Sea, which is claimed by both the United States of America and Canada. The Beaufort Sea maritime boundary dispute is a highly intriguing and challenging case that has remained unresolved for a number of years. Despite strategic and traditionally friendly relations between the USA and Canada, the two neighbouring countries have not come to an agreement as to a suitable boundary line in the Beaufort Sea. Canada claims the maritime boundary to be along the 141st Meridian West out to a distance of 370 km, following a straight line of the Alaska-Yukon land border. On the contrary, the position of the United States is that the boundary line is perpendicular to the coast out to a distance of 370 km, following a line of equidistance from the coast of the Beaufort Sea. This difference creates a wedge with an area of about 21,000 km2 that is claimed by both nations. The area is known for having reach natural resources. Currently, the conflict is well-managed and does not pose any immediate threat to the region or USA-Canada relations. These two countries adhere to diplomacy and principles of peaceful dispute resolution