The exploitation of the underwater cultural heritage (UCH) involves various competing interests, which are of private and public, commercial and non-commercial nature. The 2001 UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage (CPUCH) aims to deal with various issues apropos those competing interests. Its basic concerns include how UCH should be best protected, how in situ preservation should be practised, whether UCH should be commercialized at all or not, and whether salvage should be included in the UCH law. This paper examines these said competing interests and then looks for a balance between them. With an in-depth analysis of the concerned principles and rules, it argues for combination of ‘mutuality interests’ in consonance with the basic legislative scheme of the CPUCH. This approach is meant for the exploitation of UCH both for commercial and noncommercial purposes, which would, in fact, fulfill the expectation of the international community.

1. Introduction
 2. Competing Interests in the Discovery and Exploitationof UCH
 3. Reconciling the Prevailing Conflicts
  A. Multiple Use Approach
  B. The Public Right of Access to UCH for Enjoyment
  C. In situ Preservation
  D. Prohibition of Commercial Exploitation
  E. Application of Salvage Law
 4. Conclusion

• M. Z. Mohd Nor(Associate Professor of law at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (National University of Malaysia))
• A. Zahid(Senior Lecturer of law at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (National University of Malaysia))