Legal Research on the Freedom of Navigation of Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships in the Exclusive Economic Zone

Abstract

Driven by the global tide of maritime intelligent transformation, the widespread application of Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) technology—an inevitable product of integrating artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and big data into the maritime domain—poses a substantial challenge to the rules regarding the freedom of navigation in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) established by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). In regulating MASS, the current international legal framework presents three prominent dilemmas: the “hollowing-out” of flag State jurisdiction and the subsequent rupture of the accountability chain; the structural contradiction between the traditional freedom of navigation and the national security imperatives of coastal States; and the profound technical difficulties in algorithmically quantifying and objectively fulfilling the conventional obligation of “due regard.” Faced with these normative conflicts and theoretical disputes, China, strategically positioned as a prominent coastal State with a vast EEZ and cutting-edge maritime technological prowess, should advocate for a “systemic jurisdiction” framework within the global ocean governance architecture. This entails establishing a classified navigation notification mechanism and promoting the evolutionary interpretation of the “due regard” obligation. Such approaches ensure that the integration of AI into maritime navigation remains consistent with the fundamental principles of UNCLOS, while effectively safeguarding national security and marine ecological interests, ultimately contributing Chinese legal perspectives to the refinement of international maritime rules.