Page 91 - NAVAL SCIENCE 3 TEXTBOOK

96 NAVAL KNOWLEDGE

Passage through manmade canals is controlled by ilgreel11cnt The following sections address in more detail the current
of the cOllntries most concerned. In peacetime they are open to problem areas conccrning the law of the sea. These include prob-
the use of all nations' ships, subject to a toll for the transit service. lems related to economic zones, self-defense rules, exploitation of
If nations not holding title or interest in the canal are at war, bel- the continental shelf and seabeds, and fisheries.
ligerent warships from eitht'l" side may use it. The canal is closed to
belligerents at war with the controlling state; tor example, the Suez Economic Zone Problems
and Panama Canals were not opell to Axis powers during \ \'orld
~Iosl coastnl states now claim exclusi,'e jurisdiction over li\'ing
War II.
and nonliving resources within 200 miles of their coasts. In 1976
the United Stntes extended its jurisdiction o\,er fishel')' rcsources
Law of t he H igh Seas to 200 miles from its coasts. This jurisdiction is limited to fisheries
and differs from sovereignt}'. Some countries ha\'c tried to claim
As defined by the United Nations Convention on the High Seas,
absolute so\'Creignt)' that far from their coasts-and even beyond.
the term high seas means "all parts of the sei1 that are not included
In general, these countries assert thnt each coastal state has the
in the territorial sea or in the internal waters of a state." Over 70
right and duty to extend its jurisdiction into the high seas to what-
percent of the world's surface is high seas, tj'ee tor all the world to
ever extcnt it deems necessary for its economic needs. The region
usc in its commerce.
extending beyond the 12-mile territorinl sea to about 200 miles out
Freedom of the high seas includes freedom to conduct mari-
is often referred to as the ('(01l011l;C ZOlle,
time commerce, to navigate. 10 fish. to la), submarine cables and
!vfany underdeveloped cOllnt ries view the de\'elopment of coastal
pipelines, to ny over, and to undertake scientific research. In exer-
fisheries as nn answer to their economic problems, since fishing docs
cising these li'eedoms, reasoni1ble regard mllst be gi\'en to the rights
not require the technology or tremendous capital nceded for off ...
of others to use the high seas. For instance, it has been ruled that
shore mining or petroleulll e:\:ploitation. Other developing coun~
in the interest of general safety countries conducting wenpon tests
tries hope to persuade foreign interests having capital. equipment,
at sea should stn)' clear of tra\'e1ed sea lanes. If a ship does enter the
and know-how to explore ilnd exploit their seabed for a share of the
area, howe\'er, the test, not the ship, is stopped. The t~lCt that the
profits. StiU others have no desire to harvest certain ocenn resources
sea is comlllon to nll does not pre\'ent international agreements
lor themselves but W<lllt to claim jurisdiction over them and permit
concerning it. In fact, the world community of states has seen fit
others to exploit thelll in rehlfll for large license tces. The)' consider
to establish a body of maritime law to ensure that freedom of the
annexation of open space to be a legitimate menilS of compensati.ng
seas will nppJ)' equally to nil. Consequently, conventions and trea-
tor the une\'en distribution of the world's wealth.
ties ha\'e been conduded Oil safety of life and traffic at sea, snivage,
\·Vhen discussed in law of the sen negotiations, this issue has
international signals, fisheries, the laying of cables and pipelines,
been cnlled the question of the "residuum of authority." That is,
oil pollution, and the suppression of piracy nnd the slave trnde.
with whom does the jurisdiction in the 12-to-200-l1lile cconomic
Every state has the right to grant its natiollnlit)' to ships and has
zone rest-the coastnl state or the international communit)' as a
the right to sail them under its flag on the high seas. Such ships.
whole? If the former, then the coash1l stnte could arbitrarily impose
whether militnry or civil, are subject to the exclusi\'e jurisdiction of
restrictions on navigation within the zone. If the latter, only b)'
the nntionaiity of the flag flowl1. In return for these rights, ilI110ng
consent of all the world's nations, eilht.'r through treaty or by evo-
others, the state must tnke nil measures necessary to ensure the
lution of a new rule by custom, could restrictions on nonresource
safety of the ship, crew, nnd passengers.
llses of the economic zone be imposed by the constnl state.
The U.S. Coast Guard is
responsible for patrolling
fishing grounds within the
U.S. 200-mile fisheries
zone. The Coast Guard
cutter Mellon, guarding
against violations, passes
close by a Russian fac-
tory ship and several of its
trawlers.