Reassessing coastal state rights and jurisdiction under UNCLOS: legal implications of unmanned intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) operations

Abstract

This thesis examines the legality of unmanned intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) operations under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Although UNCLOS constitutes the fundamental legal framework of the law of the sea, it was negotiated without consideration of rapid technological advances, particularly the advent of unmanned systems. The increasing integration of unmanned maritime vehicles (UMVs) into ISR operations raises novel legal and practical questions. The absence of human operators on board, combined with enhanced capabilities of UMVs, has the potential to reshape both the conduct of ISR operations and State responses, thereby exacerbating existing interpretative ambiguities within UNCLOS. The research is guided by the overarching question: to what extent can the strategic use of UMVs influence the interpretation and application of UNCLOS provisions regulating ISR operations? This inquiry is examined across two spatial contexts. Chapters 2 and 3 address the territorial sea. Chapter 2 outlines the principles governing ISR operations, notably the regime of innocent passage, and highlights discrepancies between established principles and emerging practice involving UMVs. Chapter 3 examines frequently advanced arguments concerning unmanned ISR activities, assessing their plausibility and impact on the interpretations of UNCLOS. Chapters 4 and 5 turn to the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Chapter 4 analyses unmanned ISR operations within the functional balance of Articles 56 and 58 of UNCLOS. Chapter 5 considers broader claims based on parallel navigational rights and the principle of peaceful use.
By combining doctrinal analysis with comparative insights from analogous regimes and jurisprudence, this study fills a scholarly gap in law of the sea literature, which has largely assumed manned operations. It further engages with pressing issues posed by unmanned ISR operations in light of technological realities. Ultimately, the thesis advances the progressive development of international law by providing an academic framework for interpreting UNCLOS in light of UMVs and offers doctrinal and practical guidance to anticipate and mitigate disputes.

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Identifiers

ORCID for Hwon Lee: orcid.org/0000-0002-8364-4930

ORCID for Alexandros X.M. Ntovas: orcid.org/0000-0001-5310-7117

ORCID for Andrew Serdy: orcid.org/0000-0002-4727-6536

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