[Milsurplus] Who owns Pacific island UXO ?

[Hubert Miller]

I recently read an interesting article on Academia.edu on this subject. I admit I had to laff when I first saw that title.
Maybe later as time permits I'll post some of the particulars. Your first surmise may also be, what is this nonsense,
an academic discussion of for example, who is  the legal owner of abandoned ordnance or unexploded fired
shells. For example, are UXO bombs dropped by Japanese bombers considered abandoned ownerless  property, or
do  they still  belong to Japan? The argument is not as abstruse as it seems, when you learn that the point is to try to
assign the responsibility and cost of removing UXO.
The article mentions one case where a certain number of barrels of UXO were collected and set aside for disposal.
However, when disposal was arranged, it was discovered one barrel had disappeared. It seems the answer was that
some locals liked to use UXO ingredients for fishing without nets or hooks. That doesn't sound very wholesome or
longevity - promoting, does it?
-Hue
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