Maritime Political Geography

This study presents the story of successes and failures of the treatment of security matters pertaining to territorial and boundary affairs in the maritime areas of the Persian Gulf, and at the same time provides an example of the impact of territoriality on world-wide maritime security.

This book magnifies only one instance of Iran’s geopolitical role in the Persian Gulf in the interim period between the British withdrawal of forces from, and the American arrival in that region. Two centuries of Pax-Britannica was the period of territorial organization of the region, which resulted in the creation of a number of small states or emirates defining territories and boundaries for which caused huge territorial complications with the older states of the region. Pax-Britannica was removed at the end of 1971 without settling these difficult issues. Yet, immediately after their departure from the Persian Gulf, Iran began the initiative of settling territorial differences among the littoral states. Negotiations for the delimitation of maritime boundaries in the Persian Gulf which started in 1968 with Saudi Arabia continued with each and every Arab state of the region and by the mid-1970s all maritime boundaries of Iran with her Arab neighbours were settled, including legal settlement of the issue of the islands extensively examined in this book. In 1975, the age-old Iran-Iraq territorial and boundary disputes were settled in Shatt al Arab, and in the same year Iran's initiative of settling territorial disputes went beyond the region of the Persian Gulf and the Shah quelled the fire of separatist movements in Dhufar of Oman as well as intervening in Egyptian Israeli disputes and settle their differences over the Sinai Peninsula. Israeli author, Samuel Segev admits in his 1981 publications on Israeli secret relations in the Middle East that "The Shah was the originator of the idea to mediate between Anwar Sadat and Golda Meir." Another instance of the Iranian endeavour to safeguard Arab territorial integrity was Iran's undertaking in eradication of threats to Oman's territorial integrity in the early 1970s. Within three years Iranian soldiers defended with their lives Oman's territorial integrity in Dhufar Province in the face of a fierce communist separatist movement that British forces could not eradicate in twelve years.

This book addresses the often vexed question of national maritime claims and the delimitation of international maritime boundaries. The number of undelimited international maritime boundaries is much larger than the number of agreed lines. The two boundaries that define the marine domain of coastal states are examined. First, the baselines along the coast may consist of low-water lines or straight lines or a combination of both. When straight lines are used they define the seaward limit of the state's internal waters. Second, the outer limits of claims to territorial seas, contiguous zones and exclusive economic zones are measured from the baselines. All states will have to delimit at least one international boundary with a neighbouring state, whether adjacent or opposite. In confined seas no state can claim the full entitlement and must negotiate international boundaries with all neighbours. Many states bordering oceans can claim the full entitlement seawards, although they will need to delimit national boundaries with adjacent neighbours.

First published in 1990, Neptune’s Domain is organized around one unifying theme: the geographic aspects of the new Law of the Sea as expressed primarily in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The first two chapters provide essential background information. Chapters 3 through 9 explain relevant provisions of the Convention. The next two chapters cover topics excluded from the Convention, and the last three chapters are more analytical and future-oriented. All students and scholars concerned with the human use of the marine environment will welcome this book, whether they be geographers, political scientists or lawyers.

Adopting an integrated, multidisciplinary approach to the political geography of the Indian Ocean, this study analyses the Law of the Sea, evaluates the national legislation of those Indian Ocean littoral states which have proclaimed their maritime limits over offshore waters, examines the numerous bilateral and trilateral agreements on continental shelf and seabed limits of the states in the region. It also previews the potential demarcations in the region of study. Apart from its well written text, perhaps the most important aspect of the work is the exceptional series of beautifully drawn maps and diagrams accompanied by detailed captions or commentaries, a unique collection worthy of publication on its own.