Due to the limitations of historical conditions at the time of the 1st and 2nd Law of the Sea Conference, among the countries participating in the conference,
only developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America accounted for half. The four Geneva Conventions on the Law of the Sea adopted at the conference, namely: Convention on the Territorial Sea and Contiguous Zone, Convention on the High Seas, Convention on the Conservation of Fisheries and Living Resources on the High Seas and Convention on the Continental Shelf, are not conducive to the vast number of developing countries, especially the vast coastal areas. The state safeguards sovereignty and maritime rights and interests. The 3rd Conference on the Law of the Sea was a plenipotentiary diplomatic meeting attended by all sovereign states. In addition, members of the United Nations specialized agencies also participated. A total of 168 countries or organizations participated in the conference. It is also the longest and largest international legislative conference held by the United Nations so far. The adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea at the conference is the crystallization of the united struggle of the vast number of developing countries.
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea was adopted at the final meeting of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea held in Montego Bay, Jamaica on December 10, 1982. It came into effect in 1994 and has been adopted by more than 150 countries. approve. The convention stipulates that a country can have exclusive economic rights over waters up to 200 nautical miles (approximately 370 kilometers) from its coastline. The emergence of conferences and conventions on the law of the sea is due to the fact that after the expansion of Western powers, the traditional principle of "Freedom of the Seas" is no longer sufficient. "Freedom of navigation on the high seas" comes from the range of the Dutch navy's naval guns. Three nautical miles from land is considered "high seas". However, since the mid-20th century, in order to protect maritime mineral deposits and fisheries, control pollution, and assign responsibilities among major countries, the traditional concept of the high seas is no longer sufficient. The League of Nations held a meeting to discuss this issue in 1930, but to no avail. As for the maritime power of the United States, Truman first announced in 1945 that the jurisdiction of the U.S. territorial waters extended to its continental shelf, breaking the traditional identification principle of the high seas. Immediately afterwards, many countries extended their territorial waters to 12 nautical miles or 200 nautical miles. By 1967, only 22 countries were left using the early rule of 3 nautical miles. 66 countries have declared territorial waters of 12 nautical miles, while 8 countries have declared jurisdiction of 200 nautical miles. By 2006, only Singapore and Jordan continued to use the 3 nautical mile rule.
A special case can illustrate the chaos and paradox of maritime jurisdiction in the early years: In the early years, when the United Kingdom pursued the 3-nautical-mile policy, someone occupied an abandoned fortress off the coast of the country in 1967 and claimed to have established a country called the West Coast. Lan Duchy. A British ship sailed by and was shot by people from the "Principality". However, the British court held that the location was 3 nautical miles away and belonged to the high seas. Later, a "coup" occurred in the principality (population five), and the British claimed that they had no right to intervene. It was not until 1987 that the United Kingdom expanded its territorial sea to 12 nautical miles in accordance with the Convention, and the "Principality of Sealand" also claimed sovereignty over 12 nautical miles. Although the United Kingdom can claim this area based on the "continental shelf" principle, it has kept the Principality of Sealand in existence to avoid legal issues. today.