UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — What rules govern international waters?

Q1. Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the 'contiguous zone' of a coastal State is best described as which of the following?

  • A. The belt from 12 up to 24 nautical miles from the baseline, within which the State may enforce its customs, fiscal, immigration and sanitary laws
  • B. The belt up to 12 nautical miles from the baseline over which the State exercises full sovereignty subject to innocent passage
  • C. The zone up to 200 nautical miles within which the State has sovereign rights over natural resources
  • D. The submerged prolongation of the land mass over which the State has rights to seabed resources up to 350 nautical miles

Q2. Under UNCLOS, up to how many nautical miles from the baseline may a coastal State's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) extend?

  • A. 12 nautical miles
  • B. 24 nautical miles
  • C. 200 nautical miles
  • D. 350 nautical miles

Q3. The right of innocent passage of foreign vessels operates throughout the territorial sea, i.e. up to how many nautical miles from the baseline?

  • A. 3 nautical miles
  • B. 12 nautical miles
  • C. 24 nautical miles
  • D. 200 nautical miles

Q4. Which of the following bodies is responsible for organising and controlling mineral-related activities in 'the Area' (the deep seabed beyond national jurisdiction) under UNCLOS?

  • A. International Seabed Authority
  • B. International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
  • C. Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf
  • D. International Maritime Organization

Q5. Under UNCLOS, the term 'the Area' is best defined as which one of the following?

  • A. The seabed and ocean floor and subsoil thereof, beyond the limits of national jurisdiction
  • B. The entire water column and seabed lying beyond 200 nautical miles from the baseline
  • C. The high-seas water column lying beyond the outer limit of every coastal State's EEZ
  • D. The continental shelf of a coastal State extending up to 350 nautical miles

Q6. Under Article 287 of UNCLOS, which one of the following best describes 'Annex VII arbitration'?

  • A. The default (residual) dispute-settlement procedure that applies where a State has expressed no preference of forum or where the parties have not accepted the same procedure
  • B. The compulsory forum to which all law-of-the-sea disputes must first be submitted before any other body
  • C. The special arbitral procedure reserved exclusively for fisheries and marine-environment disputes
  • D. The advisory mechanism through which the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea gives non-binding opinions

Q7. During the 2026 Strait of Hormuz crisis, which Indian authority operated a round-the-clock control room to monitor developments and assist Indian shipping and seafarers?

  • A. Directorate General of Shipping
  • B. Indian Coast Guard, which alone is empowered to act on any maritime matter
  • C. Directorate General of Foreign Trade
  • D. Directorate General of Hydrocarbons