Territorial Waters

Territorial waters, or a territorial sea, as defined by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is a belt of coastal waters extending at most 12 nautical miles (22 km; 14 mi) from the baseline (usually the mean low-water mark) of a coastal state. The territorial sea is regarded as the sovereign territory of the state, although foreign ships (both military and civilian) are allowed innocent passage through it; this sovereignty also extends to the airspace over and seabed below.

The term "territorial waters" is also sometimes used informally to describe any area of water over which a state has jurisdiction, including internal waters, the contiguous zone, the exclusive economic zone and potentially the continental shelf.

Read more about Territorial Waters:  Baseline, Internal Waters, Territorial Sea, Contiguous Zone, Exclusive Economic Zone, Background, Miscellaneous, Territorial Sea Claims, Contiguous Zone Claims, Extended Continental Shelf Claims

Famous quotes containing the words territorial and/or waters:

    All the territorial possessions of all the political establishments in the earth—including America, of course—consist of pilferings from other people’s wash.
    Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)

    O Lord, methought what pain it was to drown,
    What dreadful noise of waters in my ears!
    What sights of ugly death within my eyes!
    William Shakespeare (1564–1616)