Designation of certain sea lanes and air routes thereabove through
Indonesian archipelagic waters
Note by Indonesia
1 By Law Number 17/1985, Indonesia ratified the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), 1982 in December 1985.
2 In accordance with article 53 of UNCLOS, Indonesia wishes to
designate archipelagic sea lanes for the purpose of exercising archipelagic sea lanes
passage through certain parts of its archipelagic waters.
3 According to article 53, paragraph 3 of UNCLOS, archipelagic
sea lanes passage means "the exercise in accordance with this Convention of the
rights of navigation and overflight in the normal mode solely for the purpose of
continuous, expeditious and unobstructed transit between one part of the high seas or an
exclusive economic zone and another part of the high seas or an exclusive economic zone
4 Article 53, paragraph 4 of UNCLOS states that "such sea
lanes and air routes shall traverse the archipelagic waters and the adjacent territorial
sea and shall include all normal passage routes used as routes for international
navigation or overflight through or over archipelagic waters". The paragraph also
states that "duplication of routes of similar convenience between the same entry and
exit points shall not be necessary".
5 Article 53, paragraph 5 also stipulates that "such sea
lanes and air routes shall be defined by a series of continuous axis lines from the entry
points of the passage routes to the exit points". Ships and aircraft in archipelagic
sea lanes passage "shall not deviate more than 25 nautical miles to either side of
such axis lines during passage, provided that such ships and aircraft shall not navigate
closer to the coasts than 10% of the distance between the nearest points on islands
bordering the sea lanes".
6 Pursuant to article 53 of UNCLOS, Indonesia, for the time
being, wishes to refer a proposal to IMO on the designation of certain axis lines of the
archipelagic sea lanes through certain parts of Indonesian archipelagic waters with a view
to their adoption by IMO. The co-ordinates of the axis lines as well as their description
on map are hereby attached.
7 Following consultations with officials of IMO in London on 15
February 1996 and 30 May 1996, the Government of Indonesia has also consulted the office
of the International Hydrographic Organization (1110) in Monaco on 23 August 1996. The
detailed maps as well as the list of the co-ordinates of the proposed axis lines have also
been submitted to IHO. After looking at the maps and the co-ordinates, the President of
the IHO indicated that there seems to be no problem with regard to the proposed sea lanes
and that they look good from IHO's point of view.
