Territorial waters are part of the coastal waters subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of a particular state. The United Nations has clearly defined the width of the zone - 12 nautical miles, counted from the coastline at the time of maximum low tide.
Inland waters
Territorial waters are also internal waters, including rivers, lakes, narrow bays, fjords, etc. Absolute sovereignty operates here and is not subject to the rules of the Maritime Convention.
The water area between the islands of the archipelago under certain conditions is inland waters. A number of countries (Indonesia, Philippines) have an extensive internal zone, which imposes restrictions on the passage of foreign vessels. In order not to impede navigation, the government approved maritime corridors for simplified navigation.
Territorial sea
The part of the sea (ocean) within the limits of the 12-mile zone adopted by the UN is officially considered territorial. Neighboring countries of the sea usually agree in a bilateral format on the delimitation of zones of responsibility. If it does not work out, the border is determined by equidistant points from land areas.
In practice, some states interpret the law of the sea in their own way, including water in the exclusive sovereign zone outside the territorial sea. The causes of the controversy are biological resources, natural resources, strategic position.
Contiguous zone
The territorial waters of the state are continued in the form of a contiguous zone, also defined at 12 miles. A kind of buffer created as a checkpoint. Here, border forces can partially control seafaring, catch poachers and pirates, and identify violators of sanitary, migration, and customs laws.
Military vessels of foreign countries, as a rule, must obtain permission to overcome the adjacent zone, and submarines - to move in the surface. However, the requirements are not clearly spelled out and are governed in part by regional agreements, or the “law of the strong."
Exclusive Economic Zone
Territorial waters are not only a 24-mile area of special responsibility. Nation-states have the right to the primary development of the so-called exclusive economic zone. It extends for 370 km (200 nautical miles) from the coastline (or inland waters), if there are no territorial restrictions in the form of maritime borders of neighboring countries.
The state in the EEZ can single-handedly (or with partners) extract minerals, develop hydrocarbon deposits, fish and other seafood, build wind and tidal power plants, conduct geological exploration, etc. Even the construction of artificial islands and their economic use are allowed.
Meanwhile, maritime law prohibits the obstruction of air travel and the peaceful passage of ships of other countries. The laying of communications, pipelines is allowed. The party also undertakes to protect the natural environment and eliminate the consequences of environmental disasters.
Shelf zone
The territorial sea also includes part of the extended continental shelf. The powers of states within the shelf zone are largely similar to those of the EEZ. These territories may partially coincide; in this case, the rules of economic zones are priority.
If the shelf extends beyond the exclusive economic zone and is proved to be an underwater continuation of the continental part of the country, the state has the authority to extract natural resources, conduct fishing, etc. The economic activity zone extends beyond the EEZ from 200 to 350 nautical miles from the coastline.
Territorial waters of Russia
The Russian Federation controls a vast maritime territory. The border stretches for 38,800 km. Inland waters include the White Sea, Cheshskaya Bay, Pecherskaya Bay. Thanks to the Kuril ridge, the Sea of Okhotsk is also part of territorial waters with an exclusive zone of responsibility. It is forbidden to fish in other countries without special permits.
The economic zone covers over 4 million km 2 . It fully includes the sea:
- Kara;
- Laptev;
- East Siberian;
- Okhotsk;
- White.
Partially:
- Black;
- Azov;
- Caspian
- Baltic
- Barentsovo;
- Chukchi
- Beringovo;
- Japanese
- Pacific Ocean;
- Arctic.
This territory will become the locomotive of the economy in the future. The biological resources of the waters are colossal. Shelves possess the richest reserves of mineral and ore raw materials, oil, and gas. It is planned to build underwater robotic plant cities where they will mine, transport, and partially process land gifts.
Conflict situations
Territorial waters are a zone subject to the rules of the Maritime Convention. But not all subjects unconditionally follow its provisions. Often the demarcation of the territorial sea between neighbors results in diplomatic, even military conflicts.
For example, the United States and Libya twice (1981, 1989) clashed in a dispute over the demarcation of Cider Bay. It goes deep into the territory of Africa, but wide enough to fall into the zone of exclusive sovereignty, but Libya considered it to be its own. Recent years cannot divide the territorial waters of Nicaragua and Costa Rica. The diplomatic conflict is accompanied by the threat of a military clash.
Long-standing disputes are observed between Turkey and Greece, Japan and China, Indonesia and Timor. The partition of the South China Sea can provoke large-scale wars between China, Vietnam, the Philippines, the United States and other parties.
Battle for the Arctic
Long-standing disputes unfolding between the circumpolar countries. For example, the territorial waters of Russia by partner countries and Russia itself are differentiated differently. The Russian Federation considers the area from the external borders of the Murmansk region and Chukotka to the North Pole as a zone of strategic interests. Norway, Canada, the USA and a number of others require a reduction of the zone in accordance with the rules of the Convention. Meanwhile, the United States and Canada themselves freely interpret these rules when it comes to strategic interests.
Shelves are rich in fossils, therefore, are the subject of interstate disputes. For example, Russian hydrologists in the 2000s conducted unique studies that proved that the underwater ridges of the Mendeleev, Lomonosov and Chukchi plateaus belong to the Asian continental shelf. Greenland (Denmark) claimed for part of the territory. The 2007 expedition made it possible to document the economic interests of the Russian Federation in the Arctic region.
Since 2010, Canada claims to expand the continental shelf due to the Arctic underwater territories. In particular, they consider part of the Mendeleev Rise to be a continuation of the North American continent. Denmark does not refuse claims. These decisions forced Russia to reanimate military bases on the northern islands: Novosibirsk, Franz Joseph, Novaya Zemlya and others to protect interests. Consultations in 2015-2016 do not exclude compromise decisions on the division of the shelves.
Similar conflicts are observed near the waters of Antarctica, as a number of states (Chile, Argentina, Norway, etc.) consider part of the mainland sovereign territory. This contradicts UN decisions that recognized the ice continent as a neutral zone. In total, three dozen countries have claims to delimit maritime borders.