20 THE CAAR COMMUNICATOR WATER and cultures, access to ports and water transportation has been a make-or-break factor both economically and politically. In other words, many countries have gone to war seeking such access. Although never stated in history books as the primary cause of war, access to water has long been a contributing factor. Violence between pastoralists and farmers in sub-Saharan Africa is on the rise. Attacks on civilian water systems during wars that start for other reasons have increased, such as in Yemen, Syria, Iraq, and most recently, Ukraine. Land Ho-Ho-Ho! In the oceans and seas, we can point to China’s incredibly smart plan that has seen it create artificial islands off its coast to extend its territorial waters and thus its legal reach. If it weren’t so Wile E. Coyote-brilliantly dangerous, it would be funny. According to international law, a country’s territorial sea extends 22 kilometres from its baseline. So when China builds itself a new island 21 kilometres from its baseline, it has effectively extended its territory an additional 21 kilometres into the waters of the South China Sea. To emphasize its point, China then built an airport on one of these artificial islands, allowing it to fly and “protect” its newfound watery extension. Seven of its islands have military airports on them. Then there’s UNCLOS, aka the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, an international agreement establishing a legal framework for all marine and maritime activities. As of May 2023, 168 countries and the European Union are parties, including China. UNCLOS determined that a state may not build an artificial island within another state’s exclusive economic zone. In this way, the tribunal interpreted UNCLOS to have a prohibitory rather than permissive effect on artificial island construction. Despite China being a part of the law-abiding UNCLOS, it has claimed the extended border that has been created by its new artificial islands. China said that UNCLOS and the generalities of international law are in parallel. In a beautiful act of Confucian-like geo-political poetry, China explained that “just like both wings of a bird, neither can be neglected.” The point here is that water is and has been a geopolitical tool. For more proof, think about the Panama Canal. A Country Divided We’re not talking about pirates in the Middle East or strikes at Canadian ports. Instead, we are talking about water levels being too low or too high, causing delays in shipping that affect perishable goods, causing ships to take longer trips, and alternative routes that eat up more fuel. Time and costs that affect people, businesses, sectors, and countries. It’s happening now. Along with issues on Canadian rivers and the Great Lakes, we see this occurring now along international waters, including the Mississippi River, Suez Canal, and Panama Canal—the latter three facing historically low water levels. Drought has affected water levels in the Mississippi, but it has also affected shipping through the Panama Canal. Finished in 1914 and providing Pacific and Atlantic Ocean traffic access through Panama via a series of locks, the Panama Canal symbolized US technological prowess and economic power. Although US control of the canal eventually became an irritant to relations between the US and Panama, it was considered a major foreign policy achievement at the time. After construction, all those workers were left jobless, which led to an economic crisis in Panama. To make matters worse, Panama did not even have control over the Panama Canal. Nope. The canal and the Canal Zone surrounding it came under the administration of the US, causing much internal political strife for many decades for the Central American leadership. For example, the Canal Zone in Panama was considered United States property. From February 26, 1904, through October 1, 1979, a person born in the Canal Zone acquired US citizenship as long as at least one parent was a US citizen at the time of that person’s birth. However, on September 7, 1977, one of the greatest feats in human engineering was transferred via the Torrijos-Carter Treaty when US President and peanut farmer Jimmy Carter transferred control of the canal to Panama for US$1. Although canal control was ceded then, the transferral process was not fully completed until December 31, 1999. The average person doesn’t know or care about transporting goods across water. But, if they haven’t already, they will soon begin to hear more about the trials and tribulations of shipping via ship. The Panama Canal is a critical trade route that connects North America and Asia.
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