Access to the sea is a vital and essential geopolitical advantage for nations. It offers them economic, social, and strategic benefits. It is of significant importance for trade, commerce and coastal access. It allows nations to engage in maritime trade, facilitating the exchange of goods and services with other countries. In this process, ports become essential for global trade networks, boosting economic growth and prosperity.
Moreover, sea routes provide efficient and effective means of transportation for goods and people over long distances. This is especially important for bulky or perishable goods that are more efficiently transported by sea rather than land. Also coastal regions offer access to valuable natural resources such as fish, oil, and minerals. Exploiting these resources can contribute to economic development and energy security. It also provides access to the sea for countries that are landlocked like Ethiopia. Control over coastal areas and sea routes are vital for national security and defense for all countries using the portal services.
Nations with access to the sea can project power, deploy naval forces, and protect maritime trade routes, enhancing their strategic position. Access to the sea is one of the preconditions for exercising power using naval forces. Landlocked countries are denied of this strategic power unless they make arrangements with those friendly countries that have natural access to the sea. This and other defense strategies may lead to the creation of naval forces along the sea, particularly along the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden and Somalia’s coastline. But, this requires peaceful and economic cooperation with neighboring countries of Ethiopia.
The coastal areas provide opportunities for recreational activities and attract tourists. Along the coasts, it is possible to provide beach activities and water sports. It is also attractive, gorgeous and striking for marine wildlife viewing. This allows Ethiopian enterprises engaged in touristic activities to earn foreign exchange and benefits to the local economies. This enhances quality of life of the people engaged in maritime activities.
Maritime trade routes facilitated cultural exchange and the spread of ideas among the people engaged in shipping activities. They may also come across religious activities, sharing common factors. They may be using varieties of languages along coastal areas. It is also possible to come across technologies between Ethiopia’s civilizations and cultures along the borders. Coastal regions often develop rich cultural diversity due to interactions with foreign traders and travelers.
Coastal ecosystems, coral reefs and estuaries provide valuable services to visitors and tourists. Ethiopians may cooperate with peoples of neighboring countries in the protection of maritime life and shoreline habitat from erosion and storms. It is, therefore, useful to preserve these tourist attractions as sources of foreign exchange. Given these advantages, access to the sea has been a driving force in the development and prosperity of coastal nations throughout history. However, it also brings challenges such as maritime disputes, environmental degradation, and vulnerability to sea-level rise and natural disasters. Therefore, responsible “stewardship of coastal and marine resources” is essential for sustainable development, peace and security.
Access to the sea has been vital for many countries without which they find it difficult to conduct their economic activities. They require the right of entry and exit for the purpose of trade, transportation or recreation. Countries, such as Ethiopia, that are landlocked also need access to the sea for import and export of goods and services. What is produced within these countries has to be exported passing through sea ports. This is also true for imports.
There is no country in the world that is self-sufficient and surviving without trading with the rest of other countries, near and far. A country may not need sea ports only when it is trading with neighboring countries that share its borders. However, trading with other countries requires access to the sea. For those countries bordering the seas, their coastal regions provide them with economic opportunities. They may enjoy their fishing rights along their borders. These natural resources create opportunities for entrepreneurs engaged in canning of sea food for the market. These economic opportunities, however, could not be enjoyed by landlocked countries such as Ethiopia.
Another economic opportunity that is enjoyed by countries having access to the sea is shipping. Landlocked countries could have shipping enterprises that are operating along the seas bordering neighboring countries. Ethiopia has its shipping enterprise that is engaged in the export of goods and services originating from the country. Similarly, its shipping lines are engaged in the import of goods and services that originate from abroad. The export items are mainly coffee, Chat, flowers, livestock and livestock products and meat, gemstones, etc. Its imports are wheat, refined petroleum, vaccines and medicines, palm oil, fertilizers, etc.
Apart from import and export of goods and services, the shipping lines are engaged in serving passengers that visit Ethiopia as tourists. These tourists come from different parts of the world to visit historical sites and natural attractions. Ethiopia may also engage in offshore resource extraction, which requires access to the sea in cooperation with neighboring countries.
Access to the sea is of strategic importance for national defense and security in Ethiopia. Experts have shown that throughout history, control over coastal areas and ports has often been contested. It has led to confrontations which ended up in serious conflicts. These conflicts and skirmishes used to be settled through negotiations between concerned countries.
As a landlocked country, access to the sea is particularly significant for Ethiopia. It provides a gateway to global markets. Its access to international trade is mainly facilitated through seaports of the neighboring countries. Ethiopia often relied on agreements with neighboring coastal states. Other countries having the same challenges as Ethiopia have used the strategy of being members in regional organizations to secure access to maritime routes. Currently, maintaining open and secure access to the sea is important for global trade and interconnectedness of countries.
International maritime laws and agreements, such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), regulate activities in maritime zones. They have the objective of ensuring freedom of navigation and the peaceful use of the seas for all nations. This UN Convention is a comprehensive international treaty that governs the use of the world’s oceans. It has been adopted in 1982 and entered into force in 1994.
UNCLOS establishes a legal framework for the management and conservation of marine resources. It ensures the protection of the marine environment and the regulation of maritime activities globally. Its key provisions include territorial sea that is extending up to 12 nautical miles (about 22 kilometers) from a baseline of a coastal state. Within this zone, “coastal states have sovereignty over the airspace, seabed, and subsoil.” The Law of the Sea determined that coastal states have exclusive rights over the exploration and exploitation of natural resources within an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). This area extends up to 200 nautical miles (about 370 kilometers) from the baseline.
“Other states” have the freedom of navigation in the EEZ as well as over-flight in the same area. The law also provides for coastal states their sovereign rights to explore natural resources. They also have the right to exploit natural resources on the continental shelf beyond their EEZ. This, however, has to be part of the natural continuation of their land territory. The law also guarantees the freedom of navigation for all states, including Ethiopia. They may enjoy the high seas and other maritime zones, such as the territorial sea and the EEZ.
The law establishes conservation and management of living resources. The UNCLOS establishes principles, codes, standards, duties, and measures for the conservation of resources. It also guarantees sustainable management of marine living resources, such as fish stocks. These acts require protection of the marine environment. The law defines and sets out obligations for states to prevent, reduce, and control marine pollution. It is, therefore, necessary to protect and preserve the marine environment. Those countries that are landlocked are entitled to use the maritime services for the purpose of trading.
UNCLOS has been ratified by a large majority of the countries of the world. These include major maritime powers. It also provides a crucial framework for resolving disputes related to maritime issues. These issues are mainly related to boundaries along the sea. It also involves maritime resource management without creating any disputes among neighboring countries. It pays attentions to environmental protection without which maritime resources would be in danger of extinction. However, the law is subject to misinterpretation.
There are ongoing debates concerning the interpretation of the law regarding claims on natural resources. There are also serious challenges regarding the implementation of the law as new issues arise. There are coastal areas that are subjected to overlapping maritime claims. Some countries claim an extended border that leads to clashes among neighboring countries over the use of maritime resources. Some countries have been exploiting the maritime resources that are beyond their borders. The law of the sea has been subjected to revision based on the demands of countries on the proper use of resources. In view of the benefits of maritime resources, Ethiopia has to be a beneficiary of such endowment with access to the seas.
Editor’s Note: The views entertained in this article do not necessarily reflect the stance of The Ethiopian Herald
BY GETACHEW MINAS
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD TUESDAY 16 APRIL 2024
