Maritime Boundaries

A maritime boundary is defined as the division of the earth’s water surface. It encompasses and defines certain areas and National rights over the ownership and use of various mineral and biological resources. It defines the international border at sea. The maritime boundary represents the sea borders map of a maritime nation. It identifies the sea borders of the respective country to ensure smooth legislation is carried forward.

Classification of Maritime Boundary

A maritime boundary is segregated into a list of different sections regarding its legal and legislative status, which are as follows:

• Maritime areas under the jurisdiction and leadership of a country located in a coastal region, such as internal waters and territorial sea

• Maritime areas where there is mixed legal legislation involved, which both fall under the jurisdiction of the coastal country and also the international maritime law, which can be segregated as follows: Contiguous Zone, Continental shelf, and the Especially Exclusive Economic Zone.

• Maritime areas that all the countries can use and the land-locked ones on an equal basis.

Even after maritime areas are segregated into various groups, that do not signify that they all have the same legal legislation. International straits and canals have a set of legal jurisdictions.

Maritime Boundary Zones

The maritime boundaries are classified in terms of Concentric limits and the Countries’ sea borders map. It is measured by the United Nations Convention on The Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). These are as follows:

• Inland Waters – It represents the water available on the landward side of the earth’s surface. It constitutes water bodies like rivers, bays, and lakes, which are connected to the sea

• Territorial seas – These extend to roughly a distance of twelve nautical miles from the state’s maritime borders. The country or the state exercises its jurisdiction and executive sovereignty over the components of the territorial seas like the seabed, airspace, and the subsoil beneath the territorial seas

• Contiguous Zones – These zones are beyond the limits of the territorial seas and extend up to a distance of twenty-four nautical miles from the state’s maritime boundaries. The enforcement authorities of that Region have to ensure and prevent any potential risks of theft or infringement in some components or work machinery such as customs, a breach in immigration rules or in fiscal laws and specific regulations, and also strict punishment should be devised of those found guilty of breach or infringement of the specific laws and the rules and regulations prescribed for the international border in sea

• Especially exclusive economic zones – This is a zone that stretches beyond the distance of territorial seas and contiguous zones in the sea borders map. It is said to extend up to a distance of two hundred nautical miles from a specific region’s maritime boundaries. The country or the state has jurisdiction and executive rights over an exclusive economic zone. It also has the right to undergo exploration in exclusive economic zones in search of various sources of natural energy. They are also allowed to conserve and manage various natural resources. Various international sets of rules and regulations have given countries specific powers to establish various kinds of structures and install or develop new projects and extensively use any artificial lands. Involving in research related to maritime avenues such as preserving the marine environment and scientific research based on maritime projects or marine species is also allowed by international under the Countries’ sea borders map

• Continental Shelf – It constitutes the soil lying underneath the water surface and the underground seabed of the extended submarine area. It extends up to a length of two hundred nautical miles from the maritime boundaries of the particular state or country. It extends as much as to the prolonged area to the absolute outer edge of the continental margin, throughout the region of territorial seas of the country or state to the international border in the sea.

Disputes Regarding Maritime Boundary

There have been several disputes regarding the extension of maritime boundaries, which are as follows:

• Infringement of valuables and Piracy in the Indian Ocean region

• Dispute between India and China regarding the construction of maritime projects for overall dominance in Asia. Securing ports and building military stations has been China’s main objective, while India has been diplomatically increasing its stronghold on the Indian Ocean

• A concern of Illicit trafficking of various narcotic drugs such as heroin and cannabis has increased considerably

• The Katchatheevu Island dispute between India and Sri Lanka.

Conclusion

In this blog, we have learned about what maritime boundary is all about and its various classifications, and the different zones regarding maritime boundaries and sea borders map.  Still, some doubts may remain in the reader’s mind. To solve these queries, here is a dedicated FAQ section that will clear all concepts related to this topic.