This year marks the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. What kind of changes has the "constitution for the oceans Ebrought about in the legal order of the oceans? Also, how have the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the International Seabed Authority, and the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf functioned over some 15 years since their establishment under UNCLOS? What problems remain? These are the questions to be addressed in this article.

The mission of JAMSTEC is to support our society progressing to a new maritime nation through developing new scientific and technological capabilities which contribute to the sustainable development and responsible maintenance of a peaceful and fulfilling global society. In order to accomplish this mission, JAMSTEC will challenge to develop an integrated and comprehensive understanding of the Ocean, Earth, and Life, and pursue ever-advanced theories to open new paradigms of research.

The use of radar and networks for long-term continuous observations of ocean surface current speed and waves is progressing in various countries. Even in Japan, which has promoted research and development of oceanographic radar and international standards at the ITU, these technologies would be useful in the monitoring of coastal areas where disaster prevention and environmental protection are major concerns and in territorial water border areas where observations cannot be freely carried out. The time has come to develop these technologies as part of our observation infrastructure.