locating basepoints shall be shown by an internationally accepted symbol for depicting such reefs on nautical charts, pursuant to article 6.
To comply with article 16(2), the coastal State must give due publicity to such charts or lists of geographical coordinates, and deposit a copy of each such chart or list with the Secretary General of the United Nations.
Closure lines for bays meeting the semi-circle test must be given due publicity, either by chart indications or by listed geographic coordinates.
Islands
Article 121(t) defines an island as a naturally formed area of land, surrounded by water, which is above water at high tide. Baselines are established on islands, and maritime zones are measured from those baselines, in the same way as on other land territory. In addition, as previously indicated, there are special rules for using islands in drawing straight baselines and bay closing lines, and even low-tide elevations (which literally do not rise to the status of islands) may be used as basepoints in specified circumstances. These special rules are not affected by the provision in article 121(3) that rocks which cannot sustain human habitation or economic life of their own shall have no EEZ or continental shelf.
Artificial Islands and Off-shore Installations
Pursuant to articles II, 60(8), 147(2) and 259, artificial islands, installations and structures (including such manmade objects as oil drilling rigs, navigational towers, and off-shore docking and oil pumping facilities) do not possess the status of islands, and may not be used to establish baselines, enclose internal waters, or establish or measure the breadth of the territorial sea, EEZ or continental shelf. Articles 60, 177(2), and 260 provide criteria for establishing safety zones of limited breadth to protect artificial islands, installations and structures and the safety of navigation in their vicinity.
Roadsteads
Article 12 provides that roadsteads normally used for the loading, unloading, and anchoring of ships, and which would otherwise be situated wholly or partly beyond the outer limits of the territorial sea, are included within the territorial sea. Roadsteads included within the territorial sea must be clearly marked on charts by the coastal State. Only the roadstead itself is territorial sea; roadsteads do not generate territorial seas around themselves; the presence of a roadstead does not change the legal status of the water surrounding it.
NAVIGATION AND OVERFLIGHT
Internal Waters, Territorial Sea, Straits, Archipelagic States, Exclusive Economic Zone, And High Seas (Parts II-V, VII)
Parts II-V and VII of the Convention contain a critical, effective and delicate balance between the interests of the international community in maintaining the freedom of navigation and those of coastal States in their offshore areas.
As discussed in the previous section of this Commentary, the Convention creates a distinct legal regime for each maritime zone. This section analyzes the rules set forth in each of these regimes regarding the rights, duties and jurisdiction of coastal States and maritime States relating to navigation and overflight.
The maritime zones off the coasts of the United States are among the largest and most economically productive in the world. The United States also remains the world's preeminent maritime power. Accordingly, the importance to the United States in maintaining the complex balance of interests represented by these provisions of the Convention cannot be overstated.
There are five elements of the Convention essential to the maintenance of this balance from the perspective of navigation, overflight, telecommunications, and related uses:
The rules for enclosing internal waters and archipelagic waters within baselines, and the prohibition on territorial sea claims beyond 12 miles from those baselines;
The express protection for and accommodation of passage rights through internal waters, the territorial sea, and archipelagic waters, including transit passage of straits and archipelagic sea lanes passage, as well as innocent passage;
The express protection for and accommodation of the high seas freedoms of navigation, overflight, laying and maintenance of submarine cables and pipelines, and related uses beyond the territorial sea, including broad areas where there are substantial coastal State rights and jurisdiction, such as the EEZ and the continental shelf;
The prohibition on regional arrangements in areas that restrict the exercise of these rights and freedoms by third States without their consent; and
The right to enforce this balance through arbitration or adjudication.
Rights, freedoms and jurisdiction recognized and established by the Convention are subject to Part XII of the Convention on the Protection and Preservation of the Marine Environment, discussed below. This includes the duty of the flag State to ensure that its ships comply with international pollution control standards, and the rule of sovereign immunity set forth in article 236.
Internal Waters
Internal waters are those landward of the baseline. Article 2 makes clear the generally recognized rule that coastal State sovereignty extends to internal waters. In articles 218 and 220, the Convention adds to general notions of sovereignty and jurisdiction over internal waters by expressly authorizing port State enforcement action within internal waters for pollution violations that have occurred elsewhere. This authorization does not imply any limitation on other enforcement actions that coastal States may choose to exercise in their ports or other internal waters.
Subject to ancient customs regarding the entry of ships in danger or distress (force majeure) and the exception noted below, the Convention does not limit the right of the coastal State
