The US plan:
To harvest and stockpile mineral nodules that can be found on the sea floor,
To look for those that can contain valuable metals and even traces of rare earth minerals.
This move may be a part of the ongoing US-China standoff as former US national security adviser Alexander Gray argues that Beijing regards the deep-sea bed as “a front line in economic and military competition with the US.”
Earlier this month, Beijing imposed restrictions on the exports of certain rare earth minerals as Trump keeps introducing more and more stringent tariffs against Chinese goods.