LAW OF THE SEA COUNTRY STUDY INDIA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79-01054A000100130001-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 31
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 28, 2001
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: May 1, 1974
• Content Type: STUDY

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becr
No Foreiiign Dissem
Law of the Sea Country Study
India
Secret
BGI LOS 74-13
May 1974
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NATIONAL SECURITY INFORMATION
Unauthorized Disclosure Subject to Criminal Sanctions
Classified by 019641
Exempt from general declassification schedule
of E.O. 11652, exemption category:
? 5B(1) (2 , and f3)
Automatically eclassi ied on:
Date Impossible to Determine
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T
Law Of The Sea Country Study
Supplement
BGI LOS 74 -13 SU PP
August 1975
Republic of India
At Caracas and Geneva, India bowed to the will of other
wide-margin states and dropped its key LOS stance -- that coastal-
state seabeds should be cut off at 200 miles to forestall leaving
"virtually nothing" for the international community. It now
favors extending national seabeds to the outer edge of the
continental margin but insists that revenues from mineral
resources beyond 200 miles should be shared with underdeveloped
states through the proposed international authority.
Seabeds are increasingly important to India as the world
energy crisis, plus New Delhi's goal of oil self-sufficiency by
? the 1980s, spur the search for oil resources offshore and on.
Its sole producing offshore field, Bombay High in the Gulf of
Cambay, may yield at least 1 million metric tons this (its
second) year and 10 times as much within 5 years. With foreign
assistance others may soon be developed in areas from the
Kutch Basin and Saurashtra to Lakshadweep off the west coast,
in the Cauvery Basin off the southeast coast, and in the West
Bengal-Orissa Basin off the northeast coast. Interest in these
and other seabed resources has prompted India to start delimiting
its maritime boundaries; agreements have been signed with
Indonesia and Sri Lanka but not yet with its other six neighbors.
New Delhi is having problems with Dacca, which wants the median
line bent slightly westward to compensate for area denied by
its curved shoreline. India disagrees, both to avoid setting a
bad precedent and also to assure its presence in the area should
suspected large oil reserves be found. American firms are
independently conducting the search for the two countries.
This supplement was prepared by the Office of Geographic and
Cartographic Research to support the NSC Interagency Task Fcrce
on the Law of the Sea. The supplement updates, but is not a
replacement for, BGI LOS 74-13. Comments and questions may be
directed to Code 143, Extension 2257.
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At Caracas India also adopted the prevailing view on fisheries;
rather than a 100-mile exclusive fishing zone, it now favors a
fishing zone coincident with the 200-mile economic zone.
India's other LOS positions are largely the same as before
Caracas, but some have been altered by events or were more sharply
defined at the Caracas and Geneva sessions.
Before the two meetings India strongly opposed all sea-related
nuclear activities. Doubts it voiced about "free" vs. "innocent"
passage in straits stemmed from a fear of ship-based nuclear
emissions. India still opposes the placement of nuclear. and
other mass-destruction weapons on the seabed and ocean floor but
has changed its view on nuclear vessels since becoming the world's
sixth nuclear power in May 1974 and is seriously considering
acquiring some for its navy and merchant fleet. With this, it
.appears India's support for the U.S. view on unimpeded straits
transit is now conclusive.
Before Caracas the only archipelago comment from India,
which has two archipelagos and about 1,000 islands, was that it
opposed any claim that restricted passage through traditional
shipping channels. At Caracas, however, India called for a
"suitable regime" for archipelagos and islands and urged that
"no distinction" be made among archipelagos that: constitute a
single state, are an integral part of a coastal state, or are
some distance away from a coastal state. India's "Mr. LOS,"
Dr. S. P. Jagota, particularly stressed that the Andaman and
Nicobar archipelago -- which he called an "extension of the
Indonesian chain" -- be handled on a par with Indonesia or any
other archipelago. After the India-Indonesia delimitation agree-
ment was signed in August 1974, however, India's concern over
"unequal treatment" apparently vanished and its spokesmen said
nothing about archipelagos at Geneva.
In an international forum and particularly in a "Group of 77"
frame of reference, India tends to voice its opinions more
forcefully than it does in low-key, factual meetings with U.S.
officials. What had seemed fairly bland views on scientific
research and marine pollution, for instance, appeared more
pointed as India led the push for exclusive coastal-state control
in these areas. By and large, however, India's LOS stance con-
tinues to be shaped by the same world position it had before
Caracas and Geneva: to be neutral vis-a-vis the major powers, to
champion the underdog -- in this case landlocked and narrow-margin
states -- and to be a major spokesman for underdeveloped nations.
India's future LOS role more than likely will blend these inter-
national objectives with its own national priorities.
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NO FOREIGN DISSEM
The Law of the Sea Country
Studies are prepared to support
the NSC Interagency Task Force
on
the Law of the Sea.
The
countries to be included in
the
series are selected on
the
basis of priorities suggested
by
the chairman of the
Task
Force.
Each study has two parts. Part I is an analysis of the
primary geographic, economic, and political factors that
might influence the country's law of the sea policy, the
public and private expressions of that policy,
Part II provides
basic data and information bearing on law of the sea matters.
This study was prepared by the Office of Basic and
Geographic Intelligence. Biographic support was provided by
the Central Reference Service. The study was coordinated
within the Directorate of Intelligence and with the Depart-
ment of State. Comments and questions may be directed to the
LOS Country Studies Working Group, Code 143, Extension 2257.
25X6
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NO FOREIGN DISSEM
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NO FOREIGN DISSEM
Part I - Law of the Sea Analysis
Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Factors Influencing LOS Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Law of the Sea Policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Kev Policy Makers. LOS Negotiators and Advisers . . . . . . . . 9
Part II - Background Information
Basic Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Present Ocean Claims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Action on Significant UNResolutions . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Membership in Organizations Related to LOS Interests. . . . . . 23
Draft articles submitted by India to the Seabed Committee
Maps: Regional map
Theoretical Division of the World Seabed
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NO FOREIGN DISSEM
Part I - Law of the Sea Analysis
India--with a.3,600-mile coastline, dependency
on merchant shipping for its chief international
trade, and large potential offshore resources--has
in recent years developed an interest in the sea
and in such world oceanic activities as the UN
Seabed Committee. Its Law of the Sea (LOS) policy--
though more pragmatic than mystic--is best explained
by the Buddhist maxim Sangham Saranam Gachchami,
defined by an Indian LOS official as "Surrender
thyself to the community since individually you
cannot even get a hearing, let alone victory. In
unity is strength."
To assure reasonable access to the sea for all, India believes
coastal states, like itself, must limit their territorial demands to
forestall leaving "virtually nothing" for the international community.
Although India claims a 12-n. mile territorial seas limit, it favors a
12-to-18-mile contiguous zone for quarantine, health, and customs
purposes; a 100-n. mile fisheries zone (outside the territorial sea);
and a 200-n. mile resources zone, which includes the smaller zones. It
approves foreign access to all these areas under certain conditions.
India jointly drafted (with Sri Lanka, Canada, and Kenya) a major
fisheries proposal (see Annex), and it firmly supports the idea of an
international seabed authority.
In LOS matters, as in all foreign affairs, India strives to balance
its role as spokesman for the developing Asian-African states with its
desire for harmony vis-a-vis East and West. It particularly champions
the cause of the landlocked states (there are three on India's north-
eastern border). India insists that they have the same rights in the
seas as coastal and transit states and share the benefits, perhaps on a
preferential basis, derived from seabed exploration. Indian officials
stress that the Caracas conference will fail unless landlocked states
receive fair treatment and high seas resources are equitably distributed.
While skillfully juggling its relations with the United States,
U.S.S.R., and other leading powers, India, nevertheless, does not hesi-
tate to oppose certain policies it considers unacceptable. Chief among
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these are nuclear activities that it feels may harm other nations
whether it be France's atmospheric testing in the South Pacific, the
possible ejection of radioactive pollution from nuclear ships and
submarines, or the possible placement of nuclear or other weapons of
mass destruction on the ocean floor. India has stated there is "no
place" for the "arms race in relation to the waters" and it cosponsored,
along with 26 other states, the UN's 1972 resolution declaring the
Indian Ocean a "zone of peace" to support this position. Officials
insist that the underground blast that made India the world's sixth
nuclear power on 18 May 1974 was a "peaceful nuclear explosion experi-
ment" in a program designed only for such "peaceful uses" as deepening
and widening ports, mining and earth-moving.
India has not flatly opposed all policies advocated by the United
States and U.S.S.R. at LOS preparatory sessions and has even reserved
its comments on some issues it is known to oppose. Indian LOS officials
generally are reasonable, realistic, flexible, and quite willing to give
a conscientious hearing to the points of view of other states. India
unquestionably would like to see the Caracas conference succeed and is
willing to assume its share of the necessary give-and-take to see that
it does.
B. FACTORS INFLUENCING LOS POLICY
Special Geographic Features
India juts southward into the Indian Ocean, its 3,600-mile coastline
washed by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Laccadive Sea to the south,
and the Bay of Bengal to the east. India's Laccadive Islands in the
Arabian Sea and Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal have
a total coastline of about 700 miles. The subcontinent's underseas
projection is broad and extends far to the south. When theoretically
apportioned with its sea neighbors, India's share of the adjacent
continental margin is an estimated 340,000 square nautical miles--or
about 2 1/2 percent of the world's total continental margin. Its
continental shelf area, measured to the 200-meter line, is decidedly
greater on the west coast, where it ranges from at least 50 miles off-
shore to 100 miles or more north of Bombay. Along the east coast, the
shelf generally falls within much less than 50 miles except near Cal-
cutta where it extends out to about 90 miles.
Uses of the Sea
Mineral Resources -- India has done some offshore exploration for
natural resources, notably gas and oil, as part of its developmental
goal toward national self-reliance by 1979. It still must import almost
two-thirds of its crude oil needs, which have mounted by 9% a year
since 1950. Oil-bearing structures have been indicated in 11 locations
in the Gulf of Cambay (Khambhat), Bay of Bengal, Gulf of Mannar, and
the Palk Strait.
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A major breakthrough came in February 1974 when the Sagar Samrat
("Sea King"), a government-owned drilling platform built in Japan
under U.S. supervision, struck oil from a 962-meter depth on the
Bombay High in the Gulf of Cambay. Possible reserves in this area are
estimated at 500 million metric tons. Off-shore Company International
of Houston, Texas was involved in these initial stages but, if full-
scale development is pursued the Indian government plans to balance
its contracts (esti.mated at $300-$600 million) among companies from
several countries.
Earlier Soviet efforts to drill for offshore oil in India foundered
because of a lack of expertise, such as an inability to fix a rig in
place or to cope with such problems as high underground pressure and
rock cave-ins. However, the U.S.S.R. still works closely with India
in exploring and developing onshore oil and gas resources.
Other offshore mineral resources include manganese nodules in the
Indian Ocean, phosphates off the Andaman Islands, and monaziteilmenite
sands off the Arabian seacoast. India is unlikely to exploit these in
the near future, however, because it has large, more accessible on-
shore deposits of the same minerals.
Living Resources -- India is one of the world's ten largest catchers
of fish (1.9 million metric tons in 1972), but one of its smallest
consumers. Many Indians for religious reasons will not eat animal
protein, and regular fisheaters are too few to raise the annual
consumption level beyond ten pounds per capita, compared to 37 pounds
in Sri Lanka.
About 65% of the catch comes from the sea, chiefly along the west
coast, and the rest from inland waters. Sardine, mackerel, prawns, and
Bombay duck account for over half the marine catch, of which the major
part is marketed fresh in the coastal areas, a large part is cured, and
the rest canned or made into fish meal. Shrimp accounts for only 10% of
the marine catch, but exports of frozen shrimp are large enough to
comprise nearly one-fourth the international trade in shrimp products,
making India the world's number one shrimp exporter.
India's fishing industry is underdeveloped; technical and equipment
limitations have confined fishing to a few miles from the coastline.
Foreign assistance from the Food and Agriculture Organization, the
Colombo Plan, and other global and regional agencies has facilitated a
start in offshore exploratory and experimental fishing, the construction
of major fishing harbors, and the training of technical manpower. In its
Fifth Five-Year Plan (1974-79) India has provided for the increase of
mechanized coastal vessels from 13,000 to 20,000 and the purchase of
300 deep-sea trawlers. Presently, fishing harbors at various points
around the coast are being developed, and the storage, processing and
transportation infrastructure for deep-sea fishing is being improved.
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India believes each coastal nation should have an exclusive 100-mile
fishery zone outside its territorial waters, to which other countries
would have access if invited or licensed.
Marine Transportation -- Merchant shipping is vital to trade-
dependent India whose chief international links are by sea. Its 257-
ship fleet (1,000 gross register tons or over), jointly owned by
government and private companies, is second'in Asia only to that of
Japan in size and modernity; it is steadily growing. It has been so
outstripped by mushrooming foreign trade, however, that it can carry
only about a fifth of the nation's seaborne trade.
Over 90% of the fleet is used in scheduled (liner) and nonscheduled
(tramp) trade. Liner services are maintained between India and the
United Kingdom, Europe (North, Baltic, Mediterranean, Adriatic, and
Black Seas), the United States, Canada, South America, Africa, Australia,
New Zealand, Japan, Malaysia, and other southeast Asian countries.
Passenger and combination passenger-cargo ships operate on the routes
between India and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and to and from the
east coast of Africa; they also carry Muslims to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia
during the annual pilgrimage to Mecca.
India's already scant port facilities have been clogged and over-
taxed by the large volume of foreign trade; four of its seven major ports
are being enlarged or improved to relieve the situation. Trade with the
country's chief suppliers of development imports--the United States,
the European Common Market, Eastern Europe and Japan--has grown faster
than it has with the United Kingdom and some Asian countries.
Naval Considerations -- India's navy is a coastal, escort, and anti-
submarine warfare force. Its chief missions are to defend territorial
waters and protect coastal shipping. The navy is trying to fulfill
these missions and at the same time assume a greater presence in the
Indian Ocean. The navy was patterned after, conditioned by, and long
supported by the British Navy, of which it was a part until 1947; but
for the past decade, the U.S.S.R. has been its chief supplier of equip-
ment and training. India has ignored Soviet restrictions against use of
its ships in units that included Western-supplied vessels--an apparent
effort to make India more dependent on the USSR for naval training. The
Indian Navy has, in fact, mixed Soviet- and Western-built ships and
craft so that personnel may be cross-trained and learn to operate
together effectively.
Political and Other Factors
Nonalignment keynotes Indian foreign policy as it has since the days
of Jawaharlal Nehru, but time has eroded the original contours. The two
main thrusts have been: to be spokesman and leader of the developing
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nations of Asia and Africa; and to steer a middle course between the
United States and the U.S.S.R., so as to maximize diplomatic, economic,
and military support from both superpowers. Over the years India has
tried to carry out. the first objective at the United Nations, UN
specialized agencies and other international bodies, though early hopes
for an Afro-Asian "third force" to bridge the East-West bloc waned
after Nehru's death in 1964. Success, especially economic, has been
realized in the second goal; by the early 1970's India had received the
largest amount of Communist economic aid of any non-Communist country
and several billions in U.S. assistance. The fragile U.S./U.S.S.R.
balance was temporarily upset in August 1971, however, when New Delhi
in seeking support in its conflict with Pakistan signed a friendship
treaty with Moscow.
India's military victory in 1971 and emergence as dominant power on
the subcontinent revived its national self-assurance and its determina-
tion to play a more influential regional and international role. India
is mending its fences with Pakistan and set the stage for rapprochement
between that nation and Bangladesh, has cool though correct relations
with the People's Republic of China, gets along well with the north-
eastern border states and Sri Lanka, and has concluded various treaties
with other Asian nations. India belongs to the U.N. Seabed Committee,
the Afro-Asian Legal Consultative Committee, and the Group of 77; it
maintains close ties with the United Kingdom, its former colonial ruler,
through the British Commonwealth.
India's original foreign policy goals are evidenced in LOS matters.
It has continued in its efforts to assure that developing, and other-
wise disadvantaged, countries receive a fair share of the world's
marine resources; it cosponsored the 1972 Indian Ocean as a Zone of
Peace resolution; and it insists that the international arms race has
"no place . in relation to the waters."
C. LAW OF THE SEA POLICY
Territorial Seas
Since 1967 India has claimed a 12-n. mile territorial sea limit,
established on archipelago baselines. The limit has been doubled twice
from its 1878 figure of 3 nautical miles. India favors a small con-
tiguous zone for quarantine, health and customs purposes and wider
zones for fishery and economic resources. It strongly holds that the
zone question should be distinct from that of the territorial waters,
which it feels have been marked strictly for political and strategic
reasons.
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Strai is
India supports the idea of unrestricted merchant traffic through
straits, recognizing coastal states' authority to designate sealanes,
traffic separation schemes, or other steps needed for navigational
safety. New Delhi has doubts about "free" as opposed to "innocent"
transit, however, and has questioned U.S. foreign policy assumptions
requiring the right of submerged transit for submarines.
Archipelagos
India opposes the type of archipelago claim made by Indonesia.and
the Philippines, insisting that traditional shipping channels remain
open as in the past. Since India's Laccadive Islands and Andaman and
Nicobar Islands are archipelagos, it is possible that India might
someday claim some kind of archipelagic status for these offshore
islands.
Coastal State Jurisdiction Beyond the Territorial Sea
India holds that coastal states have the right to claim jurisdiction
over marine resources within and beyond their territorial seas, but
couples this right with an obligation to neighboring states, to countries
that are landlocked or otherwise disadvantaged, and to the world com-
munity at large. For itself, the country favors a small contiguous zone
for quarantine, health and customs purposes, a 100-n. mile exclusive
fishing zone (beyond the territorial sea) and a 200-n. mile exclusive
seabed resource zone, which includes all intervening zones. Within
these zones, India would allow developing coastal or landlocked
neighbors to participate in certain areas and would welcome other
international interests on an invitational or licensed basis. Neither
type of zone would affect international freedom of navigation, laying
of underwater cables, or overflight.
India contends that worldwide resource zonal boundaries should be
geared to special national and international needs. A nation whose
exclusive fishing zone has a narrow outer limit might merit an added
preferential zone, while a nation with a broad continental shelf like
India's might relinquish some seabed claims in the international
interest. India's main LOS delegate, Dr. Jagota, insists "virtually
nothing" would be left for the international community if all coastal
.states.,extended seabed jurisdiction to the outer edge of the continental
margin, although India would profit from such a policy since its own-
outer edge extends far beyond 200 n. miles at some points. To forestall
such an international shortchange, India urges a uniform cutoff of sea-
bed jurisdiction at 200 n. miles (measured at a straight distance from
appropriate baselines along the coast).
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Fisheries
The draft articles on fisheries introduced by India, Sri Lanka,
Canada, and Kenya at the UN Seabed Committee in July 1973 (see Annex)
note a coastal state's special interest in the productivity of living
resources in seas adjoining its exclusive fishery zone, and that it
may take suitable steps to protect that interest. Whatever preferential
resource and catch rights a coastal state might exercise would have
to conform to regulations established by coastal, regional, and
international authorities, which would manage cooperatively all living
resources outside the exclusive fishery zones. Disputes on fishing
activities beyond the exclusive fishery zone would be referred to an
international authority specifically designated by the LOS Conference.
Deep Seabed
India fully backs the UN General Assembly's "common heritage of
mankind" declaration on the seabed (December 1970), and it has played
a key role in the consideration of the type of international regime
that might best govern seabed exploitation. India believes national
jurisdictional limits must be fixed before any seabed machinery is
established, particularly since the 1958 Continental Shelf Convention's
"elastic" provisos led some states to claim and exercise rights over
seabed areas and resources neither adjacent to the coast nor limited
by any criterion of water depth or distance from the coast. India
strongly urges worldwide adoption of a uniform straight-distance
criterion of 200 n. miles (measured from appropriate baselines along
the coast) beyond which the international regime would have control.
The International Seabed Authority (ISA), India's suggested name,
would be open to all states party to the seabed convention and should
not be organizationally linked to the UN or other international bodies.
As mankind's seabed trustee, ISA would focus on exploration and
exploitation of the international seabed, protection of marine environ-
ment and prevention and control of pollution, scientific and technologi-
cal research, and peaceful uses of the seabed. ISA might follow India's
"mixed approach" to exploration/exploitation--some areas are worked by
government corporations while others are left to private licensees or
lessees. The major parties in this instance would be ISA with states or
groups of states. Revenues should be equitably shared by ISA member
states, with "particular consideration" for developing countries
(landlocked and coastal).
ISA structure might consist,of: 1) an Assembly, with representatives
from each ISA member state, that would meet every 1 or 2 years to
approve major decisions of other ISA organs and give general policy
direction; 2) a Council of 35 members, 3 from landlocked states, that
would equally represent the major geographic areas, meet continuously,
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and be in overall charge of ISA functions; 3) an Economic and Technical
Commission that would be an advisory body of 10 international specialists
elected to 5-year terms by the Assembly on Council recommendation;
4) a Seabed Corporation that would be a separate legal personality
with its own share capital and separate budget and would conduct
direct seabed exploitation for the ISA; 5) a settlement tribunal; and
6) a small secretariat.
Prior to formal action by the forthcoming LOS Conference, India
would oppose all unilateral attempts to set up an interim regime or to
conduct seabed exploration/exploitation, unless such attempts advance
"the development of an international regime on the seabed."
Marine Pollution
India believes that since the marine environment is of common con-
cern to the international community all states should cooperate to
protect and preserve it. In particular, specific laws should be
adopted to offset the generalities of existing international pollution
documents. These laws, India holds, should define marine pollution,
identify its sources on land and sea, outline control measures,
determine legal liability, create a compensation fund, set up regional
monitoring and measuring arrangements, and provide assistance, education
and training to developing countries on pollution control.
While favoring specific laws, however, India does not sanction uni-
form control standards for all kinds of pollution. International
control standards should apply coast-to-coast for seabed pollution;
but vessel-pollution controls should be either national or international,
depending on individual situations. India stresses the importance of
ensuring that flag-country ships not pollute coastal waters and shores.
India is particularly concerned about the physical and political
ramifications of anything nuclear vis-a-vis the ocean (see Peaceful
Uses of the Sea).
India endorses global cooperation in the marine sciences. It favors
international research within individual national fishing or resources
zones with the consent of the nation concerned and the participation of
that nation's scientists. India supports such proposals as the Inter-
national Decade of Ocean Exploration and the UN assistance programs in
marine science and technolcgy as a means to help developing countries
reduce their dependence on advanced natio;is.
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Peaceful Uses of the Sea
India, although it became the world's sixth nuclear power with its
underground nuclear blast on 18 May 1974, strongly opposes all sea-
related nuclear activities. It fears radioactive pollution by nuclear
ships and submarines, and it objects to the idea of nuclear or other
weapons of mass destruction being placed on the seabed and the ocean
floor. In 1972 India cosponsored the UN resolution to consider the
Indian Ocean as a Zone of Peace; and in 1973 it opposed atmospheric
nuclear testing (jointly with Australia), citing UN and WHO resolutions
on the effect of ionizing radiation. "Ultimately," an Indian LOS dele-
gate observed, "it is only by promoting the peaceful and beneficial
uses of the oceans that it will be possible to advance a peace system
in which the arms race in relation to the waters simply will have no
place."
D. KEY POLICY MAKERS, LOS NEGOTIATORS AND ADVISERS
India has a parliamentary form of government with effective politi-
cal power centered in the Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, and her cabinet.
Several Indian delegates are articulate on various LOS matters, but
India's "Mr. LOS" is Dr. S.P. Jagota, Joint Secretary and Legal Adviser
of the Ministry of External Affairs. U.S. Embassy officials in New
Delhi speak of Jagota as "virtually the only person in the Indian
Government who really has a full grasp of the whole range of LOS issues."
Two other able representatives are Messrs. P.C. George, Joint
Commissioner (Fisheries) of the Ministry of Agriculture; and C.V.
Ranganathan, Counselor of Embassy in Bonn.
India's representatives at preparatory sessions for the Third UN
Conference on LOS or the organizational session of the Conference are
as follows:
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Name and Title (as they ap ear
on the latest UN listing
H.E. Dr. P. K. BANERJEE
Ambassador Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary
Permanent Representative to the UN
Mr. M. C. BASU
Senior Specialist
Planning Commission
Government of India
Mr. S. M. S. CHADHA
Director
United Nations Division
Ministry of External Affairs
Commodore F. L. FRASER
Chief Hydrographer to the
Government of India, Dehradun
*Mr. P. C. GEORGE
Joint Commissioner (Fisheries)
Ministry of Agriculture
*Dr. S. P. JAGOTA
Joint Secretary and Legal Advisor
Ministry of External Affairs
Mr. I. C. JAIN
Law Officer
Ministry of External Affairs
Mr. D. C. KAPOOR
Chief Hydrographer to the
Government of India
Seabed Committee Session
Mar
71
Jul
Aug
71
Feb
Mar
.72
Jul
Aug
72
Mar
Apr
73
Jul
Aug
73
Conf
.
Dec
73
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Org.
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Name and Title
H.E. Mr. N. KRISHNAN
Ambassador
Permanent Representative to the UN
Seabed Committee Session
Org.
Conf .
Dec
73
Mr. Dilip LAHIRI
Second Secretary
Permanent Mission to the UN
Mr. P. M. S. MALIK
First Secretary
Permanent Mission to the UN
Dr. N. K. PANIKKAR
Director
National Institute of Oceanography
Panaji, Goa
Dr. G. RAMASWAMY
Chief (Exploration, Planning and
Development)
Ministry of Petroleum and Chemicals
*Mr. C. V. RANGANATHAN
Counsellor
Embassy of India, Bonn
*Mr. P. Chandrasekhara RAO
Legal Adviser
Permanent Mission to the UN
Mr. K. L. SARMA
Assistant Legal Adviser
Ministry of External Affairs
*H.E. Mr. Samarendranath SEN
Ambassador Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary
Permanent Representative to the UN
(replaced by Rikhi JAIPAL in
June 1974)
Mar
71
Jul
Aug
71
Feb
Mar
72
Jul
Aug
72
Mar
Apr
73
Jul
Aug
73
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
F
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
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Mr. Ranjit SETHI
First Secretary
Permanent Mission to the UN
Mr. Prem SINGH
First Secretary
Permanent Mission to the UN
Seabed Committee Session
71
Jul
Aug
71
Feb
Mar
72
Jul
Aug
72
Mar
Apr
73
Jul
Aug
73
.
Conf.
Dec
73
X
X
Org.
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Part II - Background Information
Geography
World region: South Asia
Category: coastal
Bordering states: Pakistan, People's Republic of China, Nepal, Bhutan,
Burma, Bangladesh
Bordering bodies of water: Indian Ocean (Bay of Bengal, Laccadive Sea
and Arabian Sea)
Bordering straits: Palk Strait
Area of continental shelf: 131,800 sq. n. mi. (includes centrally
administered island territories); shared with Sri Lanka
Area to 200 n. mi. limit: 587,600 sq. n. mi. (includes centrally
administered island territories)
Area to edge of continental margin: 339,700 sq. n. mi. (includes
centrally administered island territories)
Coastline: 4,378 mi. (includes offshore islands)
Land: 1,211,000 sq. mi. (includes Indian-held part of Jammu-Kashmir,
Sikkim, Goa, Damao and Diu)
Population: 581,488,000 (includes Indian-held part of Jammu-Kashmir)
Industry and Trade
GNP: $56 billion (current prices 31 March 1973); less than $100 per
capita
Major industries: textiles, food processing
Exports: $2.5 billion (f.o.b., FY72); tea, jute manufactures, iron ore,
cotton textiles, leather and leather products
Imports: $2.3 billion (c.i.f., FY72); machinery and.transport equipment,
petroleum, iron and steel, grains and flour
Major trade partners: U.S., U.K., U.S.S.R. and Eastern Europe, Japan
Merchant marine: 257 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,859,800 GRT;
3 passenger, 198 cargo, 12 tanker, 35 bulk, 9 specialized carrier
Marine Fisheries
Catch: 1.9 million metric tons (FY71-72); exports $52 million, imports
$100,000 (FY71-72)
Economic importance: significant national, major local
Ranking: 6 worldwide, 1 regional
Nature: primarily coastal, limited distant-water
Species: oil sardine, mackerel, Bombay duck, prawn, shrimp
Marine fisheries techniques: primarily artisanal, limited modern
Other countries fishing off coast: Japan, South Korea, U.S.S.R.,
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka
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Crude oil: proved recoverable reserves - 949 million 42-gal.
(128 million rretric tons) onshore; production - 54.7 million
42-gal. bbl. (7.4 million metric tons) onshore (1971)
Natural gas: proved recoverable reserves - 1,500 billion cubic feet
(42 billion cubic meters) onshore; production - 51 billion cubic
feet (est.) (1.4 billion cubic meters (est.)) onshore (1971)
Navy
Ships: 1 aircraft carrier, 2 light cruisers, 19 destroyers and escorts,
8 large guided missile boats, 6 submarines, 17 coastal patrol craft,
8 mine warships, 3 amphibious ships, 19 auxiliary ships, and about
45 service craft
Government Leaders
Prime Minister: Indira Gandhi
Minister of External Affairs: Swaran Singh
Multilateral Conventions
International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1966 (IMCO)
Regulation for the Prevention of Collisions of Vessels at Sea, 1966 (IMCO)
International Convention on Load Lines, 1966 (IMCO)
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, 1963
Agreement for the Establishment of the Indo-Pacific Fisheries Council,
1948
Multilateral Declarations
Lusaka (non-aligned) Declaration, 1970
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Present Ocean Claims*
Type
Date
Terms
Source, Notes
Territorial
1878
3 n. mi .
U.K. Territorial Waters
Sea
Jurisdiction Act
1956
6 n. mi .
Ministry of External Affairs
No. S.R.O. 699 of Mar. 22, 1956
1967
12 n. mi .
President's Proclamation
Sept. 30, 1967
Continental
1955
Seabed and sub-
U.N. Doc. A/AC, 135/11/Add. 1
Shelf
soil only
p. 13
1959
Seabed and sub-
Petroleum and Natural Gas Rules,
soil to depth
of 200 m. or to
where depth
admits of
exploitation.
1959, Art. 3
Exclusive
1956
6 n. mi.
Ministry of External Affairs
Fishing
No. S.R.O. 2920, Dec. 3, 1956
197
3
12 n. mi.
Fisheries
1956
12 + 100 n. mi.
President's Proclamation of
Conservation
Nov. 29, 1956, (Doc. A/CONF.
19/5, under India (a))
Reserve the right to proclaim
100 miles from outer limit of
territorial sea
Customs
1956
12 n. mi.
President's Proclamation of
Dec. 3, 1956 (Doc. A/CONF. 19/5)
Sanitary
1956
12 n. mi .
*Principal source: Limits in the Seas, National Claims to maritime
Jurisdiction, State Dept./INR, March 1973, and Revisions.
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Action on Significant UN Resolutions
Moratorium Resolution
(A/RES/2574 D, XXIV, 12/15/69)
Pending establishment of international regime,
States and persons are bound to refrain from
exploiting resources of or laying claim to any
part of the seabed and ocean floor beyond the
limits of national jurisdiction.
LOS Conference
(A/RES/2750 C, XXV, 12/17/70)
Convene in 1973 a Conference on Law of the Sea
to deal with establishment of international
regime for the seabed and ocean floor, and
enlarge Seabed Committee by 44 members and
instruct it to prepare for the conference draft
treaty articles embodying international regime.
LOS Conference, Timing and Site Co-Sponsor
(A/RES/3029 A, XXVII, 12/18/72)
Indian Ocean as a Zone of Peace
(A/RES/2992, XXVII, 12/15/72)
Called upon littoral and hinterland states of
Indian Ocean area, permanent members of the
Security Council and other major maritime users
of Indian Ocean to support concept that Indian
Ocean should be zone of peace.
Landlocked/Shelf-Locked Study Resolution
(A/RES/3029 B, XXVII, 12/18/72)
Called for study of extent and economic signifi-
cance in terms of resources, of international
area resulting from each proposal of limits of
national jurisdiction presented to Seabed Committee.
Peruvian Coastal State Study Resolution
(A/RES/3029 C, XXVII, 12/18/72)
Called for study of potential economic signifi-
cance for riparian states, in terms of resources,
of each of the proposals on limits of national
jurisdiction presented to Seabed Committee.
Co-Sponsor
Permanent Sovereignty over Natural Resources In favor
(A/RES/3016 XXVII, 12/18/72)
Reaffirmed right of states to permanent sovereignty
over all their natural resources, wherever found.
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Membership in Organizations Related to LOS Interests
ADB. . . . . . . . . . Asian Development Bank
Colombo Plan . . . . . Colombo Plan for Co-operative Economic
Development in South and Southeast Asia
Commonwealth . . . . . Commonwealth of Nations
ECAFE. . . . . . . . . Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East
FAO. . . . . . . . . . Food and Agriculture Organization
IAEA . . . . . . . International Atomic Energy Agency
IBRD . . . . . . . . . International Bank for Reconstruction and
Development
ICAO . . . . . . . International Civil Aviation Organization
IDA. . . . . . . . . . International Development Association (IBRD
affiliate)
IFC. . . . . . . . . . International Finance Corporation (IBRD
affiliate)
IHB. . . . . . . . . . International Hydrographic Bureau
ILO. . . . . . . . . . International Labor Organization
IMCO . . . . . . . . . Intergovernmental Maritime Consultative
Organization
IMF. . . . . . . . . . International Monetary Fund
Seabed Committee United Nations Committee on the Peaceful
Uses of the Seabed and Ocean Floor beyond
the Limits of National Jurisdiction
UN . . . . . . . . . . United Nations
UNESCO . . . . . . . . United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization
WHO. . . . . . . . . . World Health Organization
WMO. . . . . . . . . . World Meteorological Organization
Indian Ocean Fisheries Commission (FAO affiliate)
Indo-Pacific Fisheries Council (FAO affiliate)
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UNITED NATIONS
EI Ee AL
ASSEMBLY
CONNI7.'TEE ON THE PEACEFUL USES OF THE
SEA-BED AND THE OCEAN FLOOR EEYOlD
THE LIMITS OF NATIONAL JURISDICTION
SUB-COJUIJ.TTEE II
Distr..
LII:ITLD
A/;AC .138/SC .II%L. 38
16 July 197;
ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
DRAFT ARTICLES ON FISHERIES
by Canada, India, Kenya and Sri Lanka)
Note; 1. The substance of this proposal is complementary to the concept
of the exclusive economic zone and should be considered as a
part thereof.
2. The proposal is- presented to promote discussion on the subject
around a concrete text and does not necessarily reflect the
final views of the sponsorinE de].etiations.
ARTICLE I
A coastal State has a right to establish an exclusive fishery zone beyond its
territorial sea. In this zone the coastal State shall exercise sovereign rigthts for
the purpose of exploration, exploitation, conservation and manag(-,,mcnt, over the
livinE resources, including fisheries, and shall adopt from time to time such
measures as it may deem necessary and appropriate. The livinL2 resources may be
plant or animal, and may be located. on the ;water surface., within the water column,
on the sea bed or in the subsoil thereof.
ARTICLE 2
The exclusive fishery zone may not extend beyond ..... nautical miles
from the baseline from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured.
ARTTGLE~
Each coastal State shall notify to the Authority aesienated for the purpose
by the Conference on the Law of the Sea the limits of the exclusive fishery zone
defined by co--ordinates of latitude and. lonitudc: or by any other internationally
recognised method and marked on large sceae charts officially recognised by that
State.
/The figure for the nautical miles in this Article will correspond to the
figure mentioned. for tl)c concept of the exclusive economic zone.
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ARTICLE A
The coastal State may allow nationals of other States to fish in its
exclusive fishery zone, subject to such terms, conditions and regulations as it may
from time to time prescribe. These may, inter alia, relate to the following:
(a) Licensing of fishing vessels and equipment, including; payment of
fees and. other forms of remunera.ion;
(b) Limiting the number of vesseio and the number of gear that may be used;
(c) Specifying the EEear permitted to be used;
(d) Fixing the periods during which the prescribed species may be caught;
(e) Fixing the age and size of fish that may be caught;
(f) Fixing the quota of catch, whether in relation to particular species of
fish or to catch per vessel over a period of time or to the total catch
of,nationals of one State durint a prescribed period.
ARTICLE 5
Neiebbouring developing coastal States shall allow each other's nationals the
right to fish in a specified area of their respective fishery zones on the basis
of long and mutually recognised usage and economic dependence on exploitation of the
resources of that area. The modalities of the exercise of this right shall be
settled by agreement between the States concerned. This right will be available
to the nationals of the State concerned and cannot be transferred to third parties
by lease or license, by establishing joint collaboration ventures, or by any other
arrangement. Jurisdiction and control over the conservation, development and
management of the resources of the specified area shall lie with the coastal State
in whose zone that area is located.
ARTICLE 6
Nationals of a developing landlocked State shall enjoy the privilege to fish
in the neighbouring area of the exclusive fishery zone of the adjoining coastal
State on the basis of equality with the nationals of that State. The modalities
of the enjoyment of this privilege and the area to which they relate shall be
settled by agreement between the coastal State and the landlocked State concerned.
This privilege will be available to the nationals of the landlocked State concerned
and cannot be transferred to third parties by lease or license, by establishing
joint collaboration ventures, or by any other arrangement. Jurisdiction and control
over the conservation, development and management of the resources of the specified
area shall lie with the coastal State in whose zone that area is located.
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ARTICLE 7
No State exercising foreign domination or control over a territory shall be
entitled to establish an exclusive fishery zone or to enjoy any other right or
privilege referred to in these Articles with respect to such territory.
ARTICLE 8
A coastal Stake has a special interes-'; in the maintenance of the productivity
of the living resources of the area of the sea adjacent to the exclusive fishery
zone, and may take appropriate measures to. protect this interest. A coastal State
shall enjoy preferential rights to the resources of this area and may reserve for
its nationals a portion of the allowable catch of these resources corresponding to
its harvesting capacity.
ARTICLES
Regulations may be made on a regional basis for the exploration,
exploitation, conservation and development of the living resources of the area of
the sea outside the limits of the exclusive fishery zone, where these resources are
of limited migratory habits and breed, feed and survive on the resources of the
region. The States of the region may establish these regulations by entering
into ar. agreement or convention between themselves, or request the Authority,
designated for the purpose by the Conference on the Law of the Sea, to formulate
these regulations for the region subject to ratification by them.
ARTICLE 10
In respect of fisheries of highly migratory habits outside the limits of
the exclusive fishery zone, regulations for their exploration, exploitation,
conservation and development shall be made by the Authority designated for the
purpose by the Conference on the Law of the Sea.
ARTICLE 11
(On Anadromous Species)
ARTICLE 12
All fishing activities in the exclusive fishery zone and the rest of the sea
shall be conducted with due regard to the interests of the other States in the
legitimate uses of the sea.. In the exercise of their rights, the other States
shall not interfere. with fishing activities in the exclusive fishery zone.
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ARTICLE 13
The jurisdiction and control over all fishing activities within the
exclusive fishery zone shall lie with the coastal State concerned. Any difference
or dispute concerning the limits of the zone or the interpretation or validity of
the terms, conditions or regulations referred to in Article 5, or the interpretation
and application of these Articles shall be settled by the competent institutions
of the coastal State concerned.
Any difference or dispute concerning fishing activities outside the
exclusive fishery zone shall be referred. to the Authority designated for the
purpose by the Conference on the Law of the Sea.
ARTICLE 14
(Final. clauses, etc.)
COMMITTEE ON THE PEACEFUL DUES OF TIC
SEA-1313P AND THE OCEAN FLOOR LE i'OND
THE L.IILtTS OF 1'TATIONAL JURI DICTION
ST.,'t3-C , 'LITTLE II
1.7 July 1973
E GLI::I A111) I,II;;SIAPN OITL'r
DRAFT ARTICLES ON FISIIERTES
(by Canada, -India, Kenya and Sri Lanka)
Corri ndum
Page 1
ARTICLE 1 should read
A coastal State has a right to establish an exclusive fishery zone beyond its
territorial sea. The coastal State shall exercise sovereign rights for the -U.12.-pose
of exploration, exploitation, conservation and management of the living resources
including fisheries, in this zone, and shall adopt from time to time such measures'
as it may deem necessary and appropriate. The living resources may be p1 nt or
animal, and may be located on the water surface, within the water column, on the
sea-bed or in the Lubsoil thereof.
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