; Whereas, on May 25, 2019, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea ruled in a vote of 19–1 that the Russian Federation shall immediately release the Ukrainian naval vessels Berdyansk, Nikopol and Yani Kapu, and return them to the custody of Ukraine, and that the Russian Federation shall immediately release the 24 detained Ukrainian servicemen and allow them to return to Ukraine, demonstrating the Tribunal’s rejection of Russia’s arguments in this matter in relation to the Law of the Sea; Whereas despite the Tribunal’s ruling aligning with the United States Government’s position on the incident, the United States continued nonparticipation in UNCLOS limits the United States ability to effectively respond to Russia’s actions in the November 25, 2018, incident, as well as to any potential future violations by Russia and any other signatory of UNCLOS; Whereas the confirmed nominee and future Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Bill Moran, stated that becoming a party to the Convention would reinforce freedom of the seas and the navigational rights vital to our global force posture in the world’s largest maneuver space. Joining the Convention would also demonstrate our commitment to the rule of law, and strengthen our credibility with other Convention parties, in response to advance policy questions on April 30, 2019, before the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate; Whereas the past Secretary of the Navy, the Honorable Ray Mabus, stated, the UNCLOS treaty guarantees rights such as innocent passage through territorial seas; transit passage through, under and over international straits; and the laying and maintaining of submarine cables , and, the convention has been approved by nearly every maritime power and all the permanent members of the UN Security Council, except the United States , on February 16, 2012, before the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate