ABSTRACT
The seas have been used for trade and violence since the dawn of history, and the violence has ranged from illegalities like piracy to activities which have been accepted by international law as naval warfare. This chapter considers when an armed conflict actually comes into being and how the rights of other flag States and coastal States are affected during the conflict. Tension exists between States with stronger naval forces, inclined to show naval strength through innocent passage navigation, and some coastal States seeking to limit foreign military uses of their maritime zones. Some clarification may here flow from the case law of the International Court of Justice in relation to law of armed conflicts (LOAC) and lex specialis. Although LOAC for non-international armed conflicts have developed much over the last decades, this improvement has focused largely on land warfare.
