Straits are peripheral formations in the study of geography, but have long been a source of controversy in international relations. They connect separate seas and divide the territory of states. This geographical fact invites legal disputes over international boundary drawing, request forpassage by foreign ships, assertion of territorial control over the waters forming straits, and the basis for a regime generally accepted as law in our times. This is a thorough and well-documented book which combines elements of history, geography, international shipping, and the law of the sea. Itasks the central question: what exactly is the current law governing this area, and also goes on to consider the concept of international straits, the distinction between existing treaty-based regimes and the general regime, and the special characteristics of straits that separate them from similararms of the sea in terms of law. In answering these questions, the author takes us back to the first regime for international straits in 1949, through to the practices of the present day. This will be an invaluable text for all international lawyers, particularly those specializing in the law ofsea.

Introductory survey covering 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea and the customary and conventional law which supplements it.

This work analyzes the management of shared fish stocks; protection of the underwater cultural heritage; the possibilities of establishing marine protected areas and other means for safeguarding vulnerable marine ecosystems; the use of the high seas for intelligence as well as recent developments on interdiction of vessels on the high seas. Special emphasis is paid to the role of international courts and tribunals in the progressive development of the law of the sea as well as the ability of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea to accommodate new uses and challenges, such as new concerns, new technological possibilities, in particular, new contexts and functions of established rules. The 1982 Convention seems capable of coping with most of them, although it remains useful to explore its possibilities and limits. This work, covering many aspects, will be useful to anyone interested in the law of the sea.

The volume surveys and discusses the range of current issues arising in the law of the sea from an Asian-Pacific perspective. There have been major developments in the law of the sea in the region: many current controversies (e.g. over archipelagic sealanes passage, drift-net fishing and environmental management) have their origins, or important exemplars, in the region. The contributors include international lawyers, political scientists and government officials with expertise in the region. Particular aspects of the book which are of interest are: (a) its discussion of the perspectives of particular countries in the region (East Asia, Australia, the Pacific Islands); (b) its focus on issues of the marine environment and fisheries, including drift-net fishing; (c) discussion of specific developments which are of general interest (the Torres Strait Treaty and its implementation, maritime-confidence-building measures, dispute resolution); and (d) an overview of issues relating to high seas freedoms, including in particular transit through straits and archipelagoes. There is a concluding essay by the editors summarizing the various trends.