Dear Paul,
Heres some of the distinctions: 1. Within the territorial zone, vessels are subject to the rules of innocent passage, which includes all of the restrictions under Article 19, so while a vessel traversing in an EEZ can, for example, take on aircraft or other weapons, or can conduct military exercises, it cant do so in the territorial seas; 2. Submarines in the territorial sea need to surface and fly the flag, not so in the EEZs; 3. Coastal states can carve out sea lands in the territorial seas; 4. Territorial seas and all the rights of sovereignty that flow from this inure to a coastal State simply on the basis of geography; by distinction, States need to declare an EEZ to benefit from UNCLOs specific legal protections. Some States havent, e.g. the UK, which relies on Continental Shelf Rights under the Geneva Convention on the Continental Shelf 1958; 5. Part V of UNCLOS places restrictions on coastal States vis-à-vis the EEZs which dont apply to territorial seas, e.g. erection of installations and structures that may interfere with transit through recognized international sea lanes. wil Dr. Wil Burns, Associate Director Master of Science - Energy Policy & Climate Program Johns Hopkins University 1717 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Room 104J Washington, DC 20036 650.281.9126 (Mobile) 202.452.8713 (Fax) [email protected] <http://energy.jhu.edu/> http://energy.jhu.edu SSRN site (selected publications): <http://ssrn.com/author=240348> http://ssrn.com/author=240348 Skype ID: Wil.Burns Teaching Climate/Energy Law & Policy Blog: <http://www.teachingclimatelaw.org/> http://www.teachingclimatelaw.org From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Paul Steinberg Sent: Wednesday, June 27, 2012 9:38 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [gep-ed] UNCLOS question Could anyone provide a clear explanation of the difference between territorial waters and the EEZ under the Law of the Sea? Beyond the obvious geographic distinction (nautical miles from baseline shore), I'm having a tough time discerning how the coastal state's rights and responsibilities differ between the two. (My apologies for the ignorant question. A couple hours of internet searches and a query to an expert didn't get me there, and I figure there must be a straightforward answer.) Best wishes, Paul -- Paul F. Steinberg Associate Professor of Political Science & Environmental Policy http://www.hmc.edu/steinberg Department of Humanities, Social Sciences, & the Arts 301 East Platt Boulevard Harvey Mudd College Claremont, CA 91711 tel. 909-607-3840
