1 This paper is one in a series issued by the Office of Oceans Affairs, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs in the Department of State. The aim of the series is to set forth the basis of national arrangements for the measurement of marine areas by coastal States. It is intended for background use only. This paper does not necessarily represent an official acceptance by the United States Government of the limits claimed. Principal analyst for this study: Robert W. Smith. Requests for additional copies should be addressed to the Office of Oceans Affairs, Room 5805, United States Department of State, Washington, D.C. 20520. LIMITS IN THE SEAS No. 125 JAMAICA’S MARITIME CLAIMS AND BOUNDARIES February 5, 2004 Office of Oceans Affairs Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs U.S. Department of State 2 Introduction This study analyzes the maritime claims and boundaries of Jamaica, an island state situated in the central Caribbean Sea, including its claim as an archipelagic State and related claims to archipelagic straight baselines, territorial sea, contiguous zone, and exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Jamaica’s maritime boundaries with Colombia and Cuba will be discussed. The bases for analyzing these claims is the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOS Convention) which Jamaica ratified on March 21, 1983.1 Archipelagic straight baselines and the LOS Convention Article 46 (b) of the LOS Convention states that “archipelago” means a group of islands, including parts of islands, inter-connecting waters and other natural features which are so closely inter-related that such islands, waters and other natural features form an intrinsic geographical, economic, and political entity, or which historically have been regarded as such. Prior to the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III), several States expressed concerns that baselines may be drawn by archipelagic States in such a manner as to incorporate an excessive amount of water. In 1958, for example, the United Kingdom delegation to the first United Nations Law of the Sea Conference responded to a proposal to include archipelago articles by stating, “the application of the principle…to widely scattered groups would enclose huge areas of water wholly out of proportion with the land area. Nor would the position be greatly simplified by the new limit to the length of straight baselines…, for wholly artificial baselines might be drawn between mere reefs and atolls.”2 And, during the UNCLOS III debate leading to the LOS Convention, one country, with a concern similar to the United Kingdom’s, proposed the following for the archipelagic baseline article, 1 The LOS Convention entered into force for those States Parties on November 16, 1994. 2 First Committee, 52nd meeting (1958), para. 38, [First] UN Conference on the Law of the Sea, III Off.Rec. 162, found in UVA Commentary, 400. 3 “…an archipelagic State may employ the method of straight baselines joining the outermost points of the outermost islands of the archipelago, provided that these lines follow the general configuration of the main island or islands and are not drawn to or from isolated islets or reefs. 3 The concern reflected by the above quotes is that by allowing archipelagic baselines to connect isolated reefs, islets, or rocks, a State would enclose waters not forming “an intrinsic geographical, economic and political entity, or which historically have been regarded as such” with the main island(s) of the archipelago. Although the phrase highlighted in the above Cuban proposal was not accepted for the final articles, the drafters placed an area of water to area of land and a baseline length criteria into Article 47 (1) and (2) as an attempt to prevent excessive claims from being made. Article 47 (1) and (2) state, “1. An archipelagic State may draw archipelagic straight baselines joining the outermost points of the outermost islands and drying reefs of the archipelago provided that within such baselines are included the main islands and an area in which the ratio of the area of the water to the area of the land, including atolls, is between 1 to 1 and 9 to 1. “2. The length of such baselines shall not exceed 100 nautical miles, except that up to 3 per cent of the total number of baselines enclosing any archipelago may exceed that length, up to a maximum length of 125 nautical miles.” Jamaica’s Archipelagic Claim Archipelagic straight baselines: Jamaica’s archipelagic straight baselines have been plotted on, and on which this analysis is based, U.S. NGA chart 26120.4 The archipelagic baseline system is depicted on the attached page-sized map for illustration purposes only. Jamaica is comprised of one main island and about a half dozen small rocks, islets and cays generally situated about 60 miles south of the main island.5 Archipelagic straight baselines connect the main island to a rock, Southwest Rock and to a series of small cays, Morant Cays. Morant Cays and Southwest Rock 3 Amendment to document A/CONF.62/C.2/L.70, submitted by Cuba, document A/Conf.62/C.2/L.73, Official Records 237, found in United Nations Archipelagic States: Legislative History of Part IV of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1990, 38.Emphasis added. 4 55th edition, July 26, 1980, 1:300,000. NGA, the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency is the former National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) and the former Defense Mapping Agency (DMA). 5 All miles in this study, unless otherwise specified, are nautical miles. One nautical mile equals 1, 852 meters. 4 are, in turn, connected by straight lines to Blower Rock. While Jamaica may not be the model archipelagic State the negotiators had in mind when they developed the archipelagic legal regime during UNCLOS III, it nevertheless meets the criteria set forth in Part IV of the Convention.6 The archipelagic straight baseline lengths range from 0.04 miles (segment 7-8) to 89.56 miles (segment 26-27—see table). Nineteen of the 28 baseline segments are less than 8 miles in length. The longest segments are those that Length of Jamaica’s Archipelagic Straight Baseline Segments (nautical miles) 1-2 = 0.30 10-11 = 1.14 19-20 = 0.22 2-3 = 5.38 11-12 = 0.72 20-21 = 16.66 3-4 = 0.68 12-13 = 0.65 21-22 = 32.71 4-5 = 0.19 13-14 = 0.75 22-23 = 0.39 5-6 = 7.09 14-15 = 0.35 23-24 = 0.70 6-7 = 1.67 15-16 = 28.83 24-25 = 0.64 7-8 = 0.04 16-17 = 23.96 25-26 = 1.12 8-9 = 18.78 17-18 = 34.00 26-27 = 89.56 9-10 = 0.64 18-19 1.46 27-28 = 41.54 28- 1 = 88.64 connect the main island to the small Morant Cays, Blower Rock, and Southwest Rock (see map at the end of the study). All baseline segments are within the LOS Convention permissible range. Jamaica would not qualify as an archipelagic State if they did not include the small southern rocks and cays in its archipelagic straight baseline system; in other words, the large main island of Jamaica by itself would not meet the archipelagic criteria. Jamaica has a land area of approximately 10,990 square kilometers and the area of archipelagic waters is approximately 22,200 square kilometers.7 Thus, the land: water ratio created by the claimed archipelagic straight baselines is 1: 2.00, which is within the acceptable 1: 1 and 1: 9 land: water ratio cited in the LOS Convention. 6 For the history of the negotiation of Part IV of the LOS Convention see, UN Office for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, Archipelagic States: Legislative History of Part IV of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UN Sales No. E.90, v.2 (1990)); Center for Oceans Law and Policy, University of Virginia, United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982, A Commentary, Vol. II, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1993 (UVA Commentary). 7 Land area of Jamaica taken from Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook 2001. 5 An interesting issue that arises when one analyzes the Jamaican archipelagic straight baseline system is the role that rocks play in determining whether Jamaica is an archipelagic State. In the south, several of the basepoints are situated on very small features, features that could possibly qualify as Article 121 (3) “rocks”. Article 121 (3) states that; “Rocks which cannot sustain human habitation or economic life of their own shall have no exclusive economic zone or continental shelf.” While no definition has been given as to what is meant by the ability to “sustain human habitation or economic life of their own”, it is quite possible the negotiators of the LOS Convention intended for this article to apply to features such as those found in the southern waters of Jamaica. However, whereas States do not enjoy the right to claim an exclusive economic zone or continental shelf from an Article 121 (3) rock, there is no provision in the LOS Convention limiting such claims if these same features form a part of the archipelagic baseline system. Due publicity: In accordance with Article 47 (9) of the LOS Convention, the archipelagic State shall give due publicity to the charts or lists of geographical co- ordinates and shall deposit such charts or lists with the Secretary-General of the United Nations. In 1996 Jamaica fulfilled this requirement when it deposited with the United Nations its The Exclusive Economic Zone Act (Baselines) regulations, 12 October 1992, which the United Nations has published in its Law of Sea Bulletin No.