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The Law of the Sea
Law of the Sea
 Governs who owns what and where in the ocean.
 1604: Hugo Grotius, On the Law of Prize and Booty.
 Successfully defended Dutch trading rights in a dispute with
Portugal. Defended free ocean access for all nations which
formed basis for modern international laws of the sea.
 1703: Concept of territorial seas adjacent to land was
recognized.

A country’s seaward boundary was set at 5 km or 3 miles – the
distance a canon ball could be fired from shore. This stood
until 1945.
United Nations and International Law of the Sea
 After WWII, oil and natural gas was found beyond
the 3 mile limit off the coast of Louisiana.
 President Harry Truman annexed the physical and
biological resources of the continental shelf of the
contiguous United States.
 Other nations soon followed.
 By 1988, The 140 nations of the UN had adopted the
Convention on the Law of the Sea (with the US
voting against it).
Law of the Sea
 Territorial waters: Defined as extending 12 miles
from shore. A nation has the right to jurisdiction within
those waters. Straits for navigation are excluded and any
vessel has a right to innocent passage.
 Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ): 370 kilometers
from a nation’s shoreline. Nations hold sovereignty over
resources, economic activity, and environmental
protection within their EEZ. (40% of entire ocean)
 High Seas: All ocean areas outside EEZs. Property to
be shared by citizens of the world. (60% of entire ocean)
United States Exclusive Economic Zone
 U.S. did not sign UN Convention.
 Concerned that private enterprise would be deprived
of profits if it were made to share high seas resources
with other countries.
 U.S. claimed sovereign rights and jurisdiction over
all marine resources within its own 370 km region
called the U.S. EEZ.
 Signed by President Reagan in 1983.
 U.S. EEZ claims rights to 4 million square miles of
continental margins, an area 30% larger than the
land area of the United States!
U.S. EEZ
Territorial Disputes
 Canada, Russia, and The United States dispute who owns
parts of the arctic continental margin


Large quantities of oil and natural gas as well as methane hydrates
may be in arctic waters
All countries are currently mapping the ocean in this area to prove
they own it.
 United States and China: Dispute whether China has the
right under international law to regulate U.S. and other
foreign military activities within its 200 nautical
maritime zone.
 Disputes with China over territorial and economic rights
over the South China Sea and the East China Sea.