The Interplay between the CAOF Agreement and BBNJ Agreement: A Chinese Perspective

• Published in: Sustainability
• Main Author: Dan Liu
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2022
• Subjects: CAOF Agreement; BBNJ; China’s position; conflict and congruence; scipo; droit; Arctic; Arctic Ocean
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3390/su142114575; https://doaj.org/article/50fdf85786ac4de4b91b2af00f276155

After years of negotiation, in 2018, five Arctic coastal states and five other members, including China, reached the Agreement to Prevent Unregulated High Seas Fisheries in the Central Arctic Ocean (CAOF Agreement). Meanwhile, at the sessions of the BBNJ negotiation, which were mandated by the UN General Assembly Resolution 72/249, expectations for a legally binding BBNJ Agreement in the future also increased. This paper outlines the convergence and potential conflict between the CAOF Agreement and the envisioned BBNJ Agreement. Moreover, owing to its important role in international ocean governance, China’s treaty obligations to the CAOF Agreement and its position on the four major issues of the BBNJ Agreement need to be carefully observed. More importantly, this paper provides an analysis of China’s views regarding the interplay between the two agreements to offer a reference for BBNJ governance.