UNCLOS: Territorial Sea, Innocent Passage & EEZ — UPSC Prelims 2022

With reference to the United Nations Convention on the Law of Sea, consider the following statements:

1. A coastal state has the right to establish the breadth of its territorial sea up to a limit not exceeding 12 nautical miles, measured from baseline determined in accordance with the convention.

2. Ships of all states, whether coastal or land-locked, enjoy the right of innocent passage through the territorial sea.

3. The Exclusive Economic Zone shall not extend beyond 200 nautical miles from the baseline from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

  1. 1 and 2 only
  2. 2 and 3 only
  3. 1 and 3 only
  4. 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (d) 1, 2 and 3

Statement-wise explanation

  • 1: correct — This repeats Article 3 of UNCLOS almost word for word. Every State may fix the breadth of its territorial sea up to a limit not exceeding 12 nautical miles, measured from baselines drawn under the Convention. India's territorial waters are also 12 nautical miles under the Maritime Zones Act, 1976.
  • 2: correct — Article 17 says that ships of all States, whether coastal or land-locked, enjoy the right of innocent passage through the territorial sea. Under Article 19, passage is innocent so long as it is not prejudicial to the peace, good order or security of the coastal State. Having no coastline does not take this right away from a State.
  • 3: correct — Article 57 says the exclusive economic zone shall not extend beyond 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured. The 350-nautical-mile figure applies to the extended continental shelf, which covers the seabed (Article 76). It does not apply to the EEZ.

How to eliminate

Elimination helps very little here. All three statements are close to word-for-word copies of UNCLOS articles: Article 3 (12 nm territorial sea), Article 17 (innocent passage for ships of all States) and Article 57 (200 nm EEZ). The words 'all states, whether coastal or land-locked' in Statement 2 look like an absolute-word trap. In this case they are the Convention's own wording. Statement 3 checks whether you mix up the EEZ (capped at 200 nm) with the continental shelf (can reach 350 nm). Remember three numbers, all measured from the baseline: 12 nm for the territorial sea, 24 nm for the contiguous zone and 200 nm for the EEZ. Remember also that the continental shelf, not the EEZ, is the only zone that can go past 200 nm. A useful habit: when every statement reads like treaty text, UNCLOS questions usually reward 'all correct'.

Know more

UNCLOS is the 'constitution of the oceans'. It was adopted in 1982 and opened for signature on 10 December 1982. It came into force on 16 November 1994, one year after the 60th State joined. India ratified it on 29 June 1995. The UN lists 172 parties as of 2026.

Every zone is measured outward from the baseline. This is normally the low-water line along the coast.

Zone Limit from baseline What the coastal State gets What other States keep
Territorial sea Up to 12 nm (Art. 3) Sovereignty over water, seabed and airspace Right of innocent passage (Art. 17)
Contiguous zone Up to 24 nm (Art. 33) Control to prevent and punish breaches of customs, fiscal, immigration and sanitary laws High-seas-type freedoms
Exclusive economic zone Up to 200 nm (Art. 57) Sovereign rights over living and non-living resources and over energy from water, currents and winds (Art. 56) Freedom of navigation, overflight, and laying cables and pipelines (Art. 58)
Continental shelf Edge of the continental margin, at least 200 nm; at most 350 nm, or 100 nm beyond the 2,500 m depth line (Art. 76) Sovereign rights over seabed and subsoil resources —

Key distinctions:

  • Sovereignty vs sovereign rights. A State has full sovereignty only in the territorial sea. In the EEZ it has rights over resources, not ownership of the waters.
  • Innocent passage means passage that is not prejudicial to the peace, good order or security of the coastal State (Art. 19).
  • India's law. The Territorial Waters, Continental Shelf, Exclusive Economic Zone and other Maritime Zones Act, 1976 sets the same 12/24/200 nm limits. Article 297 of the Constitution vests the resources of these zones in the Union.
  • Beyond national jurisdiction. The high seas are now also covered by the BBNJ (High Seas) Agreement, made under UNCLOS.

In the news

In August 2021, during India's presidency of the UN Security Council, the Prime Minister chaired a high-level open debate on maritime security. The Council's presidential statement named the 1982 UNCLOS as the legal framework for activities at sea. 2022 was also the 40th anniversary of the Convention's adoption.

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