COOK ISLANDS GOVERNMENT FILES CLAIM TO CONTINENTAL

UNCLAS WELLINGTON 000103 SIPDIS STATE FOR OES AND EEB E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV EMIN PHSA NZ SUBJECT: COOK ISLANDS GOVERNMENT FILES CLAIM TO CONTINENTAL SHELF ¶1. (U) On April 16, the Cook Islands Government (CIG) submitted a claim to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) for control of over 400,000 square kilometers of the continental shelf underlying its surrounding waters and which extends beyond the CI,s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The claim, if granted, would allow the CI to control access to minerals on or under the seabed within the claim area. The authority for the CLCS claims process is provided within the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Coastal nations may claim the right to control resources on or under the continental shelf (an undersea prolongation of the landmass) that extends outside the EEZ boundary of 200 nautical miles from shore. Cook Islands Claim May Only Be The Beginning -------------- ¶2. (U) The CIG filed its claim well before the CLCS deadline of May 13, 2009 because, according to the CI Deputy Prime Minister, of the large number of claims expected to be filed from other Pacific Island Countries (PICs). Gerard Van Bohemen, Legal Director for the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, also expects many PIC claims to be filed before the deadline. To date, however, the only PIC claims filed with the CLCS are Fiji (April 20, 2009),the Philippines (April 8, 2009),New Caledonia (by France on May 22, 2007) and New Zealand (April 19, 2006). New Zealand's claim to over 1.6 million square kilometers of its continental shelf was approved in large part by the UN on August 22, 2008 (though its overlapping claims with Tonga and Fiji remain unresolved). CIG Hopes Claim Will Be Economic Windfall -------------- ¶3. (U) The CIG filed its claim in order to control access to a potential wealth of minerals that lie on and under the CI's surrounding seabed. Within the CI's EEZ for example (which covers approximately 1.8 million square kilometers),the sea floor is littered with metallic nodules consisting of manganese, cobalt, nickel and copper. Of these minerals, cobalt is the most valuable, and the CI EEZ is estimated by the Secretariat of the Pacific Community to contain enough cobalt to supply the world for 520 years. The mineable quantity of the nodules within the CI EEZ is estimated to be 7.5 trillion tons. However, mining the nodules is presently not cost-effective given available recovery technology and prices for the same land-mined minerals. In addition, there are concerns that recovery of the nodules would damage fragile sea floor ecosystems, thus affecting the health of Pacific fisheries. Nevertheless, many in the CI, including some political leaders, view harvest of the nodules and other seabed resources as an opportunity for great national prosperity. KEEGAN