Dumped Weapons & Underwater Arms Race: Analysis of India’s Survival Strength with the Existing Legal Framework

Abstract

India’s role in maritime trade dates back to 1500s as it is bordered with Indian Ocean which is open sea. But it gradually declined when the state was invaded by colonial powers and made forced participation in the World Wars. During the wars Indian Ocean catered as major maritime trade route and hence a lot of warships sank, seized weapons were dumped in the ocean. The dumped weapons include non-deactivated biological and chemical weapons that pose perpetual threat to India and other coastal states. Since Cold War, there was a rise in militarization in the seabed which eventually led to arms race. With digitalization, the facility of remote access has further geared up the arms race in the seabed. There are bundle of laws in the global parlance to regulate the same but the increasing arms race in the seabed creates doubt with respect to the effectiveness. In this outset, it is important to analyze whether India being a coastal state be able to survive the consequences from such arms race and dumped weapons in the seabed with its existing legal framework. For this study, this research paper makes conceptual understanding along with historic analysis of dumping of weapons ad arms race in the seabed. Further the paper conducts thorough study on the existing international legal framework and the territorial laws of India in this regard. The paper also analyses the present trends in seabed arms race in the seabed and put forth suggestions for the state’s better future and security of its people.