Creeping Jurisdiction, Are International Straits in Jeopardy?
Abstract
A view of the international laws concerning both transit and innocent passage. A critical overview of factors which have the potential to create changes in those laws and a review of the importance of the straits affected by those laws from an operational perspective. The law of the sea has been with us for centuries, the concepts of mare liberum and mare clausum have been hammered into coexistence by international treaties. The 1982 Law of the Sea was crafted during both the Cold War and the environmental movement. The laws within the treaty concerning international straits were influenced by the maritime superpowers. The current international mindset focuses mainly upon the environment. International straits are of great strategic and operational importance due to the oil trade and the ability to trade space for time in a strait. The Operational Commander should be concerned with the potential for change in international straits. The environmental movement is ingrained within all Nations, and the move towards increasing jurisdictional control over vast sea areas via the EEZ foreshadows increasing control over international straits by Littorals.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 05, 1999
- Accession Number
- ADA363191
Entities
People
- William E. Tower Iii
Organizations
- Naval War College