7 - The Archipelagic Concept

Summary

Throughout the post-war decades, archipelagic states such as Indonesia and the Philippines, given impetus by the Fisheries decision, stressed the organic relationship between land and sea within an archipelago – an approach in marked contrast to the existing law’s terrestrial orientation. This relationship was presented as grounds for specific claims to archipelagic waters enclosed within straight baselines. The concept was subject to various challenges: from outright opponents who resented archipelagic encroachments on the high seas and the seabed; from continental states with outlying archipelagos who wished to claim the same rights as mid-ocean archipelagos; and from the maritime powers, who wished to safeguard unimpeded passage through other states’ archipelagic waters. In the event, the United States made recognition of the concept conditional on the acceptance of archipelagic sea lanes, within which transiting vessels would enjoy extensive rights unfettered by archipelagic state control.