Indonesia And The Law Of The Sea

Until the mid-1950s nearly all the waters lying between the far-flung islands of the Indonesian archipelago were as open to the ships of all nations as the waters of the great oceans. In order to enhance its failing sovereign grasp over the nation, as well as to deter perceived external threats to Indonesia’s national integrity, in 1957 the Indonesian government declared that it had “absolute sovereignty” over all the waters lying within straight baselines drawn between the outermost islands of Indonesia. At a single step, Indonesia had asserted its dominion over a vast swathe of what had hitherto been seas open to all, and made its lands and the seas it now claimed a single unified entity for the first time. International outrage and alarm ensued, expressed especially by the great maritime nations. Nevertheless, despite its low international profile, its relative poverty, and its often frail state capacity, Indonesia eventually succeeded in gaining international recognition for its claim when, in 1982, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea formally recognized the existence of a new category of states known as “archipelagic states” and declared that these states had sovereignty over their “archipelagic waters”. Sovereignty and the Sea explains how Indonesia succeeded in its extraordinary claim. At the heart of Indonesia’s archipelagic campaign was a small group of Indonesian diplomats. Largely because of their dogged persistence, negotiating skills, and willingness to make difficult compromises Indonesia became the greatest archipelagic state in the world.

Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelagic state, with more than 18,000 islands and over 7.9 million square kilometres of sea. The marine frontier presents the nation with both economic opportunities and political and strategic challenges. Indonesia has been affected more than most countries in the world by a slow revolution in the management of its waters. Whereas Indonesia’s seas were once conceived administratively as little more than the empty space between islands, successive governments have become aware that this view is outmoded. The effective transfer to the seas of regulatory regimes that took shape on land, such as territoriality, has been an enduring challenge to Indonesian governments. This book addresses issues related to maritime boundaries and security, marine safety, inter-island shipping, the development of the archipelagic concept in international law, marine conservation, illegal fishing, and the place of the sea in national and regional identity.

Navigational rights and freedoms have been central to the development of the law of the sea since the original debates over whether the seas were `open' or `closed' to maritime traffic. The 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea recognises the legitimate rights of coastal states to proclaim sovereignty and assert jurisdiction over vast areas of maritime space. In return, maritime states are given a range of navigational rights over waters ranging from the territorial sea through to the high sea. The new regime of the law of the sea created by the Convention presents an opportunity to review developments in the law of navigational rights and freedoms. This book assesses the navigational regime established by the 1982 Convention, with emphasis given to the continuing importance of the freedom of the seas. Navigation in the territorial sea and international straits is reviewed, especially in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore, and the Torres Strait. Archipelagic navigation from the perspective of two claimant states, Indonesia and the Philippines, and a user state, South Korea, is also considered. The interaction of environmental concerns with navigational rights is an important feature of the current law of the sea regime with relevant conventions assessed and the role of the International Maritime Organization in developing navigational standards considered. Both European and Canadian practice in the protection of sensitive marine environments and the impact upon navigational rights is also considered. Finally, the roles of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and the International Maritime Organization in dispute resolution are reviewed, before a concluding consideration of the future for navigational rights and freedoms in the twenty-first century.

Until the mid-1950s nearly all of the sea between the far-flung islands of the Indonesian archipelago was open to ships of all nations, but in 1957, the Indonesian government declared that it had absolute sovereignty over all the waters lying within straight baselines drawn between the outermost islands of Indonesia. In this single step, Indonesia made its lands and seas a unified entity for the first time, a claim formally recognized in 1982 by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Sovereignty and the Sea explores how Indonesia succeeded in its extraordinary claim despite its low international profile. John G. Butcher and R. E. Elson reveal that at the heart of Indonesia's archipelagic campaign was a small group of Indonesian diplomats whose dogged persistence, negotiating skills, and willingness to make difficult compromises resulted in Indonesia becoming the greatest archipelagic state in the world.

This textbook on the law of the sea sets the subject in the context of public international law. It comprehensively covers the principal topics of the course, from the legal regimes governing the different jurisdictional zones, to international co-operation for protection of the marine environment and marine living resources.

Explores how the law of the sea can develop in support of the objectives of the United Nations climate regime.