Sensing China threat, India joins race to mine new sea patch

Subject: Geography

Section: Eco geography

Context:

India has submitted an application to the International Seabed Authority (ISBA), based in Jamaica, to explore two large areas of the seabed in the Indian Ocean outside its territorial waters.

Afanasy Nikitin Seamount (AN Seamount):

Specifically, India is interested in the Afanasy Nikitin Seamount (AN Seamount), a cobalt-rich area that has already been claimed by Sri Lanka under different legal frameworks.
This move by India is partly influenced by reports of Chinese vessels conducting reconnaissance in the same region.
The AN Seamount, a significant geological structure in the Central Indian Basin, is located approximately 3,000 km from India’s coastline.
It spans 400 km in length and 150 km in width, rising from an oceanic depth of about 4,800 meters to 1,200 meters above the seabed.
This area is known for its rich deposits of cobalt, nickel, manganese, and copper, identified through surveys conducted around two decades ago.

Process of obtaining exploration rights:

For any extraction activities to commence, countries must first obtain an exploration license from the ISBA, an autonomous international organization created under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
These rights are specific to areas that are part of the open ocean, meaning ocean — whose air, surface and sea-bed — where no countries can claim sovereignty.
Around 60% of the world’s seas are open ocean and though believed to be rich in a variety of mineral wealth, the costs and challenges of extraction are prohibitive.
Currently no country has commercially extracted resources from open oceans.
Another UNCLOS-linked body, the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, which decides on the limits of a country’s continental shelf, may impede India’s exploration ambitions.

Exclusive rights:

Countries possess exclusive rights to the sea and seabed up to 200 nautical miles from their borders, extending this claim to the continental shelf if it naturally stretches beyond this limit, requiring detailed scientific proof.
Claims to the continental shelf usually don’t exceed 350 nautical miles, but an exception allows Bay of Bengal countries, like Sri Lanka, to claim up to 500 nautical miles, pending approval.
India’s interest in exploring the Afanasy Nikitin Seamount (AN Seamount) and another area in the Central Indian Ocean is driven by strategic concerns, including the presence of Chinese vessels in these regions.
Any area not recognized as part of a country’s continental shelf is considered ‘high sea’ and open for exploration applications to the International Seabed Authority (ISBA).

India’s claim:

The ISBA, upon reviewing India’s application to explore a cobalt-rich area already claimed by Sri Lanka, requested India to comment on the overlapping claim.
A high-level Indian delegation presented scientific evidence to support its claim for exploration rights, with the ISBA asking for further clarifications.
A final decision is awaited later this year. India has also sought permission to explore the Carlsberg Ridge for polymetallic sulphides, indicating its active interest in the Central Indian Ocean’s resources.
Despite having staked a claim for its continental shelf up to 350 nautical miles and previously gaining exploration rights in other regions, India awaits formal approval for its recent applications.

Source: TH