A FIJI representative who once helped negotiate a Pacific Island country’s maritime borders has been selected to take part at the International Visitors Leadership Programme on Law of the Sea and Maritime Security in the United States.
Maritime Boundaries Technical Officer, Emily Artack of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) will join government officials, academics and maritime security experts from across the Asia-Pacific at the training. They will learn how customary law applies in the South China Sea and the Pacific, assessing the roles of international stakeholders, observing interagency co-ordination and approaches to maritime security operations, and discussing multilateral policy and co-operative efforts in South China Sea territorial and maritime disputes.
The participants will travel to six locations around the US including Washington, New York and Hawaii, where they will explore different themes such as the Law of the Sea Convention and its applicability in the Pacific Ocean and Southeast Asian regions.
Ms Artack said the training will enable her to meet and expand her contacts with the various representatives taking part as well as learn their approach to the law of the sea and maritime security operations.
According to SPC, Ms Artack helped negotiated 14 maritime agreements and treaties in the region including formalising maritime boundaries and depositing this information with the United Nations. A recent example was the Republic of Marshall Islands which officially declared their maritime borders to the United Nations in April this year.
