THE 200 MILE LIMIT AND LATIN AMERICAN FISHERIES PROBLEMS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP08C01297R000700080006-3
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 26, 2012
• Sequence Number: 6
• Publication Date: November 28, 1967
• Content Type: CABLE

I
2 1 DEP AR TMENT OF STATE 4444'r -0 JM
Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/12/12 : CIA-RDP08C01297R000700080006-3
..4.1adalLUI
M/R
ARA
IEA
REP
AF
FOR RM USE ONLY
EUR
FE
Cu
1NR
to
F90
iAlb
GR
? cgtv.
/44
, FRB
NT
7
r?R
LAO
xmi'4
TAR
Z
AIR
RMY
CIA
2 5)
NAVY
,S0
us' A
/47
NSA
0
041-
t(ted by
ECON:
arances:
A-202 -ONMISS-IX1111._
NO.
TO Department of State
FROM
SUBJECT:
REF
?43),,
HANDLING INDICAT R /
Department please pass to Amembassies URA, SANTIAGO,
MEXICO CITY (for Fisheries Attach), LONDON, STOCKHOLM,
COPENHAGEN, THE HAGUE, BONN, Amcongen GUAYAQUIL,
PO USCINCSO, wmusNAvso
,P4.IAI4I 2
Amembassy QUITO
DATE:
November 281 1967
The 200 Mile Limit and Latin American Fisheries Problems
QUITO 1877
r-
1. Transmitted as enclosures to this airgram are the full text,
together with an unofficial English translation, of the GOEts note of
November 91 1967 to those countries (Great Britain, Sweden, The Nether-
lands, Denmark, West Germany) which formally notified the GOE of the
reservation of their rights in the Ecuadorean-claimed 200 mile territorial
sea. This text was taken from a tews report in the Guayaquil daily
El Univers? of November 211 1967.
Enclosures:
CROWLEY
1. Unofficial translation
2. El Univers? article
'TJ Dt5S4T4ED
Contents ang)as if tion Approved by:
ECON:JWBille
FOR PT. USE ONLY
In Li Out
npclassified and Approved For Release 2012/12/12 : CIA-RDPO8C01297R000700080006-3
Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/12/12 : CIA-RDP08C01297R000700080006-3
UNILLASSIFIED
(UNOFFICIAL TRANSLATION)
Taken from El Univers?,
Guayaquil, Ecuador,
November 21, 1967, page 1.
QUITO A-202
Page 1
Enclosure 1
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs presents its compliments to the
Honorable EMbassy of and has the honor to acknowledge receipt of
its?note No. of in which reference was made to Decree No. 1542
(Official Register No. 158 of November 11, 1966) by means of which the
Government of Ecuador has revised Article 633 of the Civil Code fixing the
territorial sea at two hundred marine miles measured from the most salient
points of the Ecuadorean coast and from the outermost points of the Coln
Archipelago. The Government of Ecuador considers that the issuance of the
aforementioned Decree, which is a Law of the Republic, constitutes the
exercise of its clear rights as a free and sovereign country. The antiquated
rule of the three mile territorial sea, respected when the range of a cannon
shot was no greater than that distance is now to be found completely aban-
doned as is recognized by the most distinguished specialists in International
Law and the practice of States. Other elements have been accepted as
determinants of the breadth of the territorial sea. These have been indi-
cated in paragraph II of the Declaration of Santiago, signed on August 18,
1952 by ECUADOR, Peru and Chile, ratified by Ecuador in Official Register
No. 1029 of January 24, 1956, which states "Owing to the geological and
biological factors affecting the existence, conservation and development of
the marine fauna and flora of the waters adjacent to the coasts of the
declarant countries, the former extent of the territorial sea and contiguous
zone is insufficient to permit of the conservation, development and use of?
those resources, to which the coastal countries are entitled." These factors
persuaded the three countries to establish in the Declaration of Santiago
that "'The Governments of Chile, ECUADOR and Peru therefore proclaim as a
principle of their international maritime policy that each of them possesses
sole sovereignty and jurisdiction over the area of sea adjacent to the coast
of its own country and extending not less than 200 nautical miles from the
said coast. THEIR SOLE JURISDICTION AND SOVEREIGNTY over the zone thus
described includes SOLE SOVEREIGNTY AND JURISDICTION over the sea flow and
subsoil thereof." The action of these three countries -- which, therefore,
was not a unilateral act of Ecuador -- has been supported by the resolution
passed in February of 1956 by the Inter-American Council of Jurists entitled
"Principles of Mexico on Juridical Regions of the Sea," a position that was
reaffirmed in October of 1957 by the Third Hispano-Luso-American Congress on
International Law, according to which in the present each state has the right
to fix its territorial sea out to reasonable limits, taking into account
geographical, geological and biological factors as well as the economic,
security and defense requirements of its population. The United Nations
Conferences on the Law of the Sea which took place in Geneva in 1958 and
UNCIASSIFIED
npriassified and Approved For Release 2012/12/12 : CIA-RDP08C01297R000700080006-3
? Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/12/12 : CIA-RDP08C01297R000700080006-3
UNCLASSIFIED
QUITO k-202
Page 2
Enclosure 1
1960 did not reach any agreement with respect to the breadth of the territorial
sea. TheConventions which were approved at that time do not contain any rule
with respect to that breadth and, even in the hypothetical case that they did,
Ecuador is not a party to any of those instruments nor has it signed them. The
proposals that were presented at the conferences, including the one which
advocated the recognition of a territorial sea of six miles, plus an exclusive
fishing zone of six, were not approved, whatever might have been the number of
votes they obtained. The results of these conferences proved, then, that it was
impossible to reach an international agreement establishing the breadth of the
territorial sea. Because of this, and in the absence of such agreement, it has
been recognized that this breadth can be determined by the sovereign act of the
riparian state. By the exercise of this right the states have extended the
breadth of their territorial seas: (1) for requirtments of defense; (2) in
consideration of the extensiveness of the sea which bathes their coasts; and
(3) for reasons of economic defense. Based on these antecedents the complemen?
tary agreement to the declaration of sovereignty over the'inaritime zone of 200
miles, also ratified by Ecuador and thereby a Law of the Republic (Official .
Register No. 376 of November 18, 1964), states: "Chile, ECUADOR`rand Peru will
proceed in common accord in the juridical defense of thelwinaple' of sovereignty
over the maritime zone out to a minimum distance of 200 nautical miles, including
the respective ocean flow and the subsoil thereof . . ." Therefore, the Govern?
ment of Ecuador considers that, in issuing Decree No. 15-43 (sic), it was acting
within its solemnly contracted international commitments and following the
modern practices recognized by States.
Finally, it is necessary to point out that the Political Constitution of
Ecuador now in effect, published in Official Register No. 133 of May 25, 1967,
sets forth in its Article 6 that the territory of the State is inalienable and
irreducible and includes, among other areas, the Ecuadorean territorial sea,
whose measurement is determined by the aforesaid legal dispositions and agree?
ments and guaranteed by this constitutional provision. Because of this, it
(the territorial sea) is inviolable and irreducible and is subject exclusively
to the sovereignty and jurisdiction of Ecuador. As a consequence the Government
of Ecuador CANNOT in any case or under any circumstances accept any reservation
with respect to the extent of its territorial sea.
The Ministry of Foreign Relations avails itself of this opportunity to
renew to the Honorable Embassy of the assurances of its highest and
most distinguished consideration.
Quito, November 9, 1967
UNCLASSIFIED
,
Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/12/12 : CIA-RDP08C01297R000700080006-3
? Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/12/12 : CIA-RDP08C01297R000700080006-3
UNCLASSIFTED
g. Univers?,
Guayaquil, Ecuador,
21 de noviembre de 1967.
QUITO A-202
Page 1
Enclosure 2
El? Ministerio de Relaciones EXteriores saluda atentamente a la Honorable
&bajada de y tiene a honra avisarle recibo de la nota verbal ndmero
de , en la cual se ha servido referirse al Decreto 1542 (Registro Oficial
No. 158, del 11 de Noviembre de 1.966), en virtud del cual el Gobierno del Ecuador
ha reformado el articulo 633 del Wig? Civil, fijIndose el mar territorial en
doscientas minas marftimas, medidas desde los puntos ms salientes de las costas
ecuatorianas y desde los extremos ms salientes de las islas ads extremas del
Archipidlago de Coln. El Gobierno del Ecuador considera que la expedicidn de
dicho Decreto, que es Ley de la Repdblica, constituye el ejercicio de sus plenas
facultades como pais libre y soberano. La anticuada regla de las tres mills
de mar territorial respetada, cuando el alcance de un tiro decaridn no llegaba mAs
a114 .de esa distancia, se encuentra actualmente en completo abandon?, como lo
i'econocen los mAs destacados tratadistas de Derecho Internacional y la prActica
de los Estados. Se han aceptado elementos como determinantes de la anchura del
mar territorial. Ellos se hallan indicados en el p4rrafo II de la Declaracidn
de Santiago, suscrita el 18 de Agosto de 1.952 por ECUADOR, Peril y Chile,
ratificada por Ecuador en el Registro Oficial No. 1029 del 24 de Enero de 1.956,
que dice: uLos factores geoldgicos y bioldgicos que condicionan la existencia,
conservacidn y desarrollo de la fauna y flora marftima, en las aguas que bafian
las costas de paises declarantes, hacen que la antigua extensidn del mar terri-
torial y de la zona contingua sean insuficientes para la conservacidn, desarrollo
y aprovechamiento de esas riquezas, a que tienen derecho los paises costeros".
Estos elementos llevaron a los Gobiernos de los tres paises indicados a establecer
en la Declaracidn de Santiago: "como consecuencia de estoa.hechos; los Gobiernos
de Chile, ECUADOR y.Perd, proclaman como norma de su politi6a.internacional
marftima la soberanda y jurisdiccidn exclusivas que a cida uno de ellos corres-
ponde sobre el mar que baa las costas de sus respectivos pafses hasta una
distancia minima de 200 millas marinas desde las referidas costas. LA JURISDIC-
CION Y SOBERANIA EXOLUSIVAS sobre la zona marftima indicada incluye tambidn la'
SOBERANIA Y JURISDICCION ExaUSIVAS sobre el suelo y subsuelo que a ella corres-
ponde. "La actitud de estos tres 'Daises que no fue por tanto acto unilateral
del Ecuador -- encontr6 su fundamento en la resolucidn adoptada en Febrero de
1.956, por el Consejo Interamericano de Jurisconsultos, intitulada uPrincipios de
Mdxico sobre Regiones Jurfdicas del Mart', posicidn que en Octubre de 1.957 fue
reafirmada por el Tercer Congreso Hispano-Luso-Americano de Derecho Internacional,
segdn la cual hoy en dia cada Estado tiene competencia para fijar su mar terri-
torial has ta lfmites razonables, atendidndo a factores geogrAficos, geoldgicos
y bioldgicos, asf como a las necesidades econdmicas de su poblacidn y a su seguri-
dad y defense. Las Conferencias de las Naciones Unidas sobre el derecho del
mar, realizadas en Ginebra en 1.958 y 1.960, no llegaron a ningdn acuerdo respecto
de la anchura del mar territorial. Las Convenciones que fueron aprobadas en
dicha oportunidad no contienen norma alguna que establezca dicha anchura y, adn
UNCLASSIFIED
nri Annroved For Release 2012/12/12 : CIA-RDP08C01297R000700080006-3
Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/12/12 : CIA-RDP08C01297R000700080006-3
UNCLASSIFIED
QUITO A?'202
Page 2
Enclosure 2
en el hipotdtico caso de que la contuvieren, el Ecuador no es parte de ninguno
de esos instrumentos, que ni siquiera los ha suscrito. Las propuestas que se
presentaron en las conferencias, inclusive la que propugnaba el reconocimiento de
un mar territorial de seis mulles, mAs 61a zona exklusiva de pesca de seis, no
jueron aprobadas, cualquiera que haya siio el hdmero de votos que ellas hubieren
merecido. Los resultados de esas Conferencias probaron, pues, que fue imposible
llegar a un acuerdo internacional que estableciese la anchura del mar territorial.
Por lo tanto, en ausencia de tal acuerdo se ha reconocido que esa extensidn
puede ser determinada por actos soberanos del Estado riberefio. En tal virtud,
los Estados han ampliado la anchura del mar territorial; (1) por necesidades
defensives; (2) en consideracidn a la extensidn del mar que bafia sus costes, y
(3) por rezones de defensa econdmica. Sobre la base de estos antecedentes, el
Convenio complementario a la declaracidn de soberanfa sobre la zona maritime de
200 mulles, tambidn ratificado por el Ecuador y por tanto Ley de la Repdblica
(Registro Oficial No. 376 del 18 de Noviembre de 1.964) expresa: "Chile, ECUADOR,
y Perd procederAn de comdn acuerdo en la defense jurfdica del principio de la
soberanta sobre la zone maritime, hasta una distancia mfnima, de 200 millas
marinas, incluydndose el suelo y subsuelo respectivos . . ." En consecuencia,
el Gobierno del Ecuador considera que, al expedir el Decreto ndmero 15-43, se
mantuvo dentro de los compromisos internacionales solemnemente contraidos, y
siguid la moderna prActica admitida por los Estados.
Finalmente es necesario sefialar que la vigente Constitucidn Politica del
Ecuador, publicada en el Registro Oficial ndmero 133, del 25 de Mayo de 1.967,,
establece en su artfculo 6 que el territorio del Estado es inalienable e irreduc?
tible y comprende, entre otros elementos, el mar territorial ecuatoriano, cuya
extensidn est,( determinada por las disposiciones legales y convencionales
precitadas, esti amparado por el mencionado artfculo constitucional. Por tanto
es inviolable e irreductible y estg sujeto a la soberanfa y jurisdiccidn exclu?
sives del Ecuador. En consecuencia el Gobierno del Ecuador NO PUEDE aceptar en
ningAn caso y bajo ninguna circunstancia, reserve cualquiera relative a la
extensidn de su mar territorial. El Ministerio de RR. EE. aprovecha la opor?
tunidad pare renovar a la honorable EMbajada de las seguridades de su mAs alta y
distinguida consideracidn.
Quito, a 9 de Noviembre de 1.967.
UNCLASSIFIED
Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/12/12 : CIA-RDP08C01297R000700080006-3