This Law of the Sea thing is pretty weird.

A landmass identified as a “rock” does not extend a country’s EEZ, but landmass considered an “island” does.

>>> “Rocks which cannot sustain human habitation or economic life of their own shall have no exclusive economic zone or continental shelf.” Such rocks may still have a 12-mile territorial sea including a contiguous zone (24-mile limited jurisdictional zone), but no exclusive economic zone.
>>>

Obviously there is a fair amount of grey area here in the boundary between a rock and an island, open to subjective interpretation.

Yet upon this distinction could hang the fate of hundreds of thousands of square kilometres of ocean: it decides whether the area is in one country’s EEZ, or another’s, or nobody’s. There could be hydrocarbons worth tens of billions of dollars at stake.

dv said:

This Law of the Sea thing is pretty weird.

A landmass identified as a “rock” does not extend a country’s EEZ, but landmass considered an “island” does.

>>> “Rocks which cannot sustain human habitation or economic life of their own shall have no exclusive economic zone or continental shelf.” Such rocks may still have a 12-mile territorial sea including a contiguous zone (24-mile limited jurisdictional zone), but no exclusive economic zone.
>>>

Obviously there is a fair amount of grey area here in the boundary between a rock and an island, open to subjective interpretation.

Yet upon this distinction could hang the fate of hundreds of thousands of square kilometres of ocean: it decides whether the area is in one country’s EEZ, or another’s, or nobody’s. There could be hydrocarbons worth tens of billions of dollars at stake.

Plenty of disputed islands too

Or zinc.

Not that long ago, Singapore’s claim to Pedra Branca (a small island with a lighthouse) was upheld. This is their easternmost parcel of land. (Interesting, Australia’s southernmost parcel of land other than subantarctic islands is also called Pedra Branca.) If Pedra Branca is classed as an island, a considerable chunk of the South China Sea will enter Singapore’s (currently, negligible) EEZ.

As Bear mentions, there are still plenty of islands (hundreds of them) whose ownership remains disputed.

dv said:

Not that long ago, Singapore’s claim to Pedra Branca (a small island with a lighthouse) was upheld. This is their easternmost parcel of land. (Interesting, Australia’s southernmost parcel of land other than subantarctic islands is also called Pedra Branca.) If Pedra Branca is classed as an island, a considerable chunk of the South China Sea will enter Singapore’s (currently, negligible) EEZ.

As Bear mentions, there are still plenty of islands (hundreds of them) whose ownership remains disputed.

I think that the ownership should be sorted out via war on the high seas, with an agreement that no strikes against the mainland should be entered into. a straight fight with sea skiming missiles, subs and beach invasions via amphibious craft with thousands of men pouring out should do the trick

On a related note, I somehow missed the news that, Roy Bates, Prince of Sealand, passed away late last year.

dv said:

On a related note, I somehow missed the news that, Roy Bates, Prince of Sealand, passed away late last year.

It’s your glamorous geologist lifestyle… Makes you forget about the important things.

“geologist”

SPLUTTER!

TROLLOLOLOLOL

dv said:

“geologist”

SPLUTTER!

I was wondering about that but I didn’t let it affect my shtick.

Nah, good work. It was the icing on the troll cake.

Doesn’t the term “geologist” include everyone who studies the geo?

I would say not. There are plenty of ppl who study the earth but are not geologists.

dv said:

I would say not. There are plenty of ppl who study the earth but are not geologists.

That may be so in the conventional use of the word, but does this conventional use make sense?

I would be quite happy to be called an enginolist, rather than an engiphysicist myself.

The Rev Dodgson said:

dv said:

I would say not. There are plenty of ppl who study the earth but are not geologists.

That may be so in the conventional use of the word, but does this conventional use make sense?

I would be quite happy to be called an enginolist, rather than an engiphysicist myself.

doesn’t matter what you call me as long as you call :P

wookiemeister said:

dv said:

Not that long ago, Singapore’s claim to Pedra Branca (a small island with a lighthouse) was upheld. This is their easternmost parcel of land. (Interesting, Australia’s southernmost parcel of land other than subantarctic islands is also called Pedra Branca.) If Pedra Branca is classed as an island, a considerable chunk of the South China Sea will enter Singapore’s (currently, negligible) EEZ.

As Bear mentions, there are still plenty of islands (hundreds of them) whose ownership remains disputed.

I think that the ownership should be sorted out via war on the high seas, with an agreement that no strikes against the mainland should be entered into. a straight fight with sea skiming missiles, subs and beach invasions via amphibious craft with thousands of men pouring out should do the trick

The poms certainly agree with you :)

I prefer the technical term “rock doctor”.

On the OP it is not unusual in the legal domain for significant decisions to be determined by what could be seen as well-defined but subjective determinations.

MartinB said:

I prefer the technical term “rock doctor”.

On the OP it is not unusual in the legal domain for significant decisions to be determined by what could be seen as well-defined but subjective determinations.

IKR