ABSTRACT
Elementary geography texts point out that oceans and seas cover over 70 percent of Earth’s surface. Historically, the seas as well as other waterways have served as vital conduits for travel and commerce. In Chapter 9 we noted that under certain conditions, a state may lawfully extend its jurisdiction beyond territorial limits. In this, the law of the sea provides us with a particularly fascinating study due to the convergence of changes in technology with fundamental changes in the international environment during the 1940s-1990s. Rapid advances in technology, combined with a rapid expansion of the state system flowing from the breakup of colonial empires, produced a volatile political environment. These new states were determined to have their views heard and their interests taken as important. These changes in turn resulted in the emergence of a new regime for the oceans that, while drawing substantially upon time-honored principles, has many innovative features.
