Chapter 6
Maritime Counter-Proliferation
of Weapons of Mass Destruction
and the Freedom of Navigation:
A Japanese Lawyer’s Perspective
Hiroyuki Banzai
6.1 Introduction
On 9/11, a group of terrorists demonstrated to the world that terrorists are capable of
attacking the nucleus of a state and causing thousands of deaths simultaneously, in
many places. However, if weapons of mass destruction (WMD) are used by terrorists in a 9/11-style attack, the devastation would be much larger. Subsequently, the
proliferation of WMD and its related material, mainly because of concerns from
the United States after 9/11, came to be considered as one of the most severe and
emergent threats to the contemporary international community.
1
The risk of the proliferation of WMD may have arisen from the spread of dualuse goods, which may have contributed to the development of WMD. This means
that states or non-state actors can develop the ability to develop WMD through a
variety of international trade routes. Additionally, the proliferation risk has increased,
particularly through maritime transport, which is capable of transporting a large
number of goods and materials. The oceans, as international waters, are open to all
states, and the freedom of the sea has long constituted the grounds for the growth of
the world economy. However, after 9/11 this same freedom of the sea increased the
risk of the proliferation of WMD.
2 For example, the activities of criminals engaged
in piracy are regulated under the current international law of the sea because these
activities hamper the freedom of the sea. Nevertheless, if states or non-state actors
aim to acquire WMD and related material through maritime transport, their activities
1 S. Reich and P. Dombrowski, The End of Grand Strategy: US Maritime Operations in the 21th
Century (2017), pp. 108–109.
2 M. A. Becker, “The Shifting Public Order of the Oceans: Freedom of Navigation and the
Interdiction of Ships at Sea,” Harvard International Law Journal, Vol. 46 (2005), pp. 136–147.
H. Banzai (B)
Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
e-mail: h-banzai@waseda.jp
© Kobe University 2021
D. Tamada and K. Zou (eds.), Implementation of the United Nations Convention
on the Law of the Sea, Kobe University Monograph Series in Social Science Research,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-6954-2_6
95
Maritime Counter-Proliferation
of Weapons of Mass Destruction
and the Freedom of Navigation:
A Japanese Lawyer’s Perspective
Hiroyuki Banzai
6.1 Introduction
On 9/11, a group of terrorists demonstrated to the world that terrorists are capable of
attacking the nucleus of a state and causing thousands of deaths simultaneously, in
many places. However, if weapons of mass destruction (WMD) are used by terrorists in a 9/11-style attack, the devastation would be much larger. Subsequently, the
proliferation of WMD and its related material, mainly because of concerns from
the United States after 9/11, came to be considered as one of the most severe and
emergent threats to the contemporary international community.
1
The risk of the proliferation of WMD may have arisen from the spread of dualuse goods, which may have contributed to the development of WMD. This means
that states or non-state actors can develop the ability to develop WMD through a
variety of international trade routes. Additionally, the proliferation risk has increased,
particularly through maritime transport, which is capable of transporting a large
number of goods and materials. The oceans, as international waters, are open to all
states, and the freedom of the sea has long constituted the grounds for the growth of
the world economy. However, after 9/11 this same freedom of the sea increased the
risk of the proliferation of WMD.
2 For example, the activities of criminals engaged
in piracy are regulated under the current international law of the sea because these
activities hamper the freedom of the sea. Nevertheless, if states or non-state actors
aim to acquire WMD and related material through maritime transport, their activities
1 S. Reich and P. Dombrowski, The End of Grand Strategy: US Maritime Operations in the 21th
Century (2017), pp. 108–109.
2 M. A. Becker, “The Shifting Public Order of the Oceans: Freedom of Navigation and the
Interdiction of Ships at Sea,” Harvard International Law Journal, Vol. 46 (2005), pp. 136–147.
H. Banzai (B)
Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
e-mail: h-banzai@waseda.jp
© Kobe University 2021
D. Tamada and K. Zou (eds.), Implementation of the United Nations Convention
on the Law of the Sea, Kobe University Monograph Series in Social Science Research,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-6954-2_6
95