What does a Freedom of Navigation Operation (FONOP) aim to do?

The purpose of a Freedom of Navigation Operation (FONOP) is primarily to assert and uphold international rights and freedoms concerning navigation. By conducting FONOPs, a nation can challenge excessive maritime claims made by coastal states that may restrict navigation and overflight in areas where international law, such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), grants access.

FONOPs are an important tool for demonstrating a commitment to the principle of free navigation in international waters. They serve to dispute unilateral claims that infringe on the rights of other nations to navigate freely. This can include operations in areas where a nation believes that another state has made unjustified claims to territorial waters or airspace.

Enforcement of national sovereignty over territorial waters typically pertains to the rights of a coastal state to govern its adjacent waters according to international law and is not the focus of FONOPs, which instead emphasize navigation rights. While promoting cooperation among adjacent nations and establishing new trade routes might be beneficial outcomes of maintaining freedom of navigation, they do not directly encapsulate the main goal of conducting a FONOP, which is to dispute and challenge specific claims that threaten free navigation.