more important today than in 1982, when the world had a roughly bipolar political dimension and the U.S. had more abundant forces and overseas bases to project power wherever needed. [see Figure 1]
The navigational rights and freedoms embodied in the Convention are in daily use by commercial maritime and air traffic, and the naval and air forces of the United States and its allies. The core rights assured by the Convention include the following:
* Innocent Passage. This right of ships to continuous and expeditious passage not prejudicial to the peace, good order, or security of coastal States is the primary right of nations in foreign territorial seas. Naval vessels rely on this right to conduct their passage expeditiously and effectively. The Convention plays a special role in codifying the customary right of innocent passage for ships on the surface and contains an exhaustive list of the types of shipboard activities which are forbidden. It also describes the extent of, and limitations on, the right of coastal States to regulate and suspend innocent passage.
* Transit Passage. The Convention protects and preserves free transit on, under and over international straits. Free transit of straits is essential to the global mobility of U.S. forces and U.S. trade. More than 135 straits, which otherwise would have been severely restricted as a result of the extension of the territorial seas to 12 NM, are open to free passage under the Convention's regime of transit passage. Less restrictive than innocent passage, ships and aircraft engaged in transit passage may pass through straits continuously and expeditiously in their normal mode. Submarines may pass through straits submerged, naval task forces may conduct formation steaming, aircraft carriers may engage in flight operations, and military aircraft may transit unannounced and unchallenged. Three significant conflicts illustrate the importance of the right to transit straits freely:
* During the 1973 Yom Kippur War, overflight of the Strait of Gibraltar enabled U.S. military aircraft to conduct emergency resupply of Israel following the denial of overflight of land territory by certain NATO Allies.
* Following the State-sponsored terrorist attack on U.S. armed forces in Berlin, U.S. military aircraft overflew the Strait of Gibraltar to conduct a raid on Libya on April 14, 1986, after certain NATO Allies denied the U.S. permission to overfly their land territory.
* Before and during the Persian Gulf War, the U.S. and other coalition naval and air forces traversed the critical choke points of Hormuz and Bab el Mandeb. The right of free transit set forth in the Convention provided an authoritative basis for common allied positions and action. In preparation for Operation Desert Storm, 3.4 million tons of dry cargo and 6.6 million tons of fuel had to be transported to U.S. and allied forces in the Gulf. Ninety-five percent of the cargo moved by ship through the straits. [see Figure 2]
* Archipelagic Sea Lanes Passage. The right of transit by ships and aircraft through archipelagos, such as the Philippines and Indonesia, can have a significant impact on the ability of military forces to proceed to an area of operations in a timely and secure manner. The Convention's guarantee of archipelagic
