Moscow's game around sea communications becoming more dangerous – media

The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea obliged Russia to return to Ukraine three naval boats and 24 sailors detained in the Kerch Strait in November 25, 2018. The term of the execution of this ruling expired on June 25. In accordance with the Convention on the Law of the Sea, all naval crew members enjoy immunity, cannot be convicted, cannot be held in penitentiary facilities, while the laws of another country cannot apply to them.

However, the Kremlin defiantly ignores both the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, adopted in 1982, and the ruling of the international tribunal, Free Russia House wrote.

This episode itself is clearly seen as Russia's intention to establish unilateral control over the Azov and Black Seas.

The Kremlin blocks the revision of fishing quotas in the Sea of ​​Azov, while the FSB and Russian Guard capture Ukrainian fishermen. Moscow illegally requires other countries to get permission for their ships to pass and demands that Russian pilots be present on foreign ships.

The Russian military operation in Syria creates an additional context here. Sevastopol plays an important role in the delivery of military goods to the Mediterranean. The militarization of the Crimean peninsula in general is on the rise...

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At the same time, episodes are increasingly being recorded where Russian military aircraft and warships far from the borders of the Russian Federation engage in provocations creating threats to maritime communications. Two recent cases were recorded in early June: the menacing maneuver of the Russian anti-submarine ship Admiral Vinogradov against the 7th US fleet warship in the Philippine Sea and the dangerous Russian interception of the US-35 anti-submarine aircraft over the Mediterranean Sea.

In public rhetoric, Kremlin officials stress willingness to cooperate with international institutions, express willingness to follow the rule of law, and call others to do the same. However, the situation with the Ukrainian naval sailors, the disregard of the norms of maritime law, and court decisions handed down Hamburg suggests that Moscow acts as if it intends to hack the entire international system that has developed after World War 2.

This double game is increasingly at odds with the high status that Russia enjoys as a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

Against this background, the struggle for the liberation of Ukrainian sailors is an important effort to de-escalate, and the outcome of this conflict is important for the entire G20.

Ukraine insists not only on the release of seamen, but also on recognizing the Kerch Strait as international. According to Kyiv, this will reduce the risk of further clashes.

In this situation, it is time to initiate a meeting of the UN Security Council to adopt a special resolution to force the Russian Federation to execute the decision of the International Court of Justice, the publication stresses.

It is necessary to raise the question of imposing restrictions on the maritime infrastructure of Russian pipelines, the ports of Azov, as well as institutions that provide certification of foreign ships with their subsequent registration "under the flag of the Russian Federation", and provide services to foreign operators for communication with the de jure closed ports of the occupied Crimea.

The 1969 Vienna Convention (Article 60) and the UN Charter (Article 51) give grounds for Ukraine to suspend or completely terminate the treaty between the Russian Federation and Ukraine of 2003, establish a 24-mile adjacent zone and declare the width of its sea zone and continental shelf.

In this case, the Sea of ​​Azov's space outside the territorial waters will acquire the status of high seas waters, and the Kerch Strait, in accordance with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (Part 3), will acquire a status of a Strait, which is used for international navigation.

If Moscow is going to sentence naval sailors in violation of international norms, the response should be the requirement to shut down the representative offices and branches of the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RMRS) and the Russian River Register (RRR) in Europe and recommendations on behalf of the EU authorities to European shipowners, operators and insurance companies to avoid cooperation with the Russian Registers in the implementation of maritime operations.

We should not forget that Russia illegally seized Ukrainian ships Petro Hodovanets, Ukraina, Centaur, Sivash, Fedir Uryupin, and is now exploiting them. The International Maritime Organization at the UN (IMO) should not ignore these demonstrative and gross violations of international law by Russia. These pirate-type actions on the part of Russia contradict its high status in the IMO Council. Ukraine will be raising the issue of suspending this status.

International organizations that monitor the implementation of maritime law should secure the release of Russian naval sailors from Russia, the cessation of pirate actions against civilian ships and stop Moscow from taking new steps to make the Sea of ​​Azov closed.