By reviewing the formulation process of the Draft Regulations on Exploitation of Mineral Resources in the Area (short for the "Exploitation Regulations") by the International Seabed Authority (ISA) and the US policies and legislations to unilaterally advance deep-sea mining in the international seabed area (short for the "Area"), this paper analyzes the game landscape of international legal regimes governing deep-sea mining from multiple perspectives, including core divergences over the Exploitation Regulations, differentiated interest demands of participating parties, and the impact of US unilateral practice. Based on the analysis results, some countermeasures are proposed, including promoting the ISA to optimize the review procedure of the Exploitation Regulations, petitioning the Seabed Disputes Chamber of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea to render an advisory opinion on the legality of US unilateral authorization of deep-sea mining in the Area, and actively applying for new exploration contract within the Area.

deep-sea mining  /  International Seabed Authority (ISA)  /  international seabed area  /  Exploitation Regulations  /  US unilateralism  /  game landscape  /  countermeasure