Outer Continental Shelf Delimitation in the Western Caribbean Sea (Nicaragua v. Colombia II) / Delimitação da Plataforma Continental Estendida no Mar do Caribe (Nicarágua v. Colômbia II)

Abstract: The controversy between Nicaragua and Colombia before the ICJ now concerns maritime delimitation beyond 200 nm. One of the main legal issues in this case is whether international law allows for delimitation to take place where alternative bases of continental shelf entitlement, namely, natural prolongation and distance, are opposed. As alleged by Nicaragua, its natural prolongation extends beyond 200 nm and overlaps with Colombia’s distance-based continental shelf entitlement. Nicaragua endorses the principle of equal division and accordingly, advocates for the viability of maritime delimitation. In Colombia’s view, the distance criterion has priority and trumps natural prolongation. In this work, the author analyses the legal discourse already voiced on the occasion of the dispute in the East China Sea, in order to identify instances of parallelism and symbiotic contribution with the question of the delimitation of the continental shelf beyond 200 nm in the Western Caribbean Sea. Resumo: A controvérsia entre Nicarágua e a Colômbia, antes da CIJ, diz respeito à delimitação marítima além de 20mn. Uma das principais questões jurídicas neste caso é se o direito internacional permite que a delimitação ocorra onde as bases alternativas de titularidade da plataforma continental, ou seja, prolongamento natural e distância se opõem. Como alegado pela Nicarágua, seu prolongamento natural se estende além de 200mn e se sobrepõe ao direito de plataforma continental baseado na distância da Colômbia. A Nicarágua endossa o princípio de divisão igualitária e, portanto, defende a viabilidade da delimitação marítima. Na opinião da Colômbia, o critério da distância tem prioridade e supera o prolongamento natural. Neste trabalho, o autor analisa o discurso jurídico já manifestado por ocasião da disputa no Mar da China Oriental, a fim de identificar ocorrências de paralelismo e contribuição simbiótica com a questão da delimitação da plataforma continental para além de 200mn no Mar do Caribe.

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The International Court of Justice: Territorial and Maritime Dispute (Nicaragua v. Colombia)

International Legal Materials ◽

10.5305/intelegamate.52.1.0001 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 52 (1) ◽

pp. 1-71 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

David P. Riesenberg

Keyword(s):

Continental Shelf ◽

Caribbean Sea ◽

Foreseeable Future ◽

Outer Continental Shelf ◽

International Court Of Justice ◽

Court Of Justice ◽

Territorial Sovereignty ◽

International Court ◽

Western Caribbean ◽

The Icj

In 2012, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) rendered its fourth judgment in Nicaragua v. Colombia. The case was first initiated by Nicaragua under the Bogotá Pact in 2001. The fourth judgment affirmed Colombia’s territorial sovereignty over a group of islands in the western Caribbean Sea and delimited a boundary between the two states’ zones of maritime jurisdiction. Even after eleven years of complicated proceedings, however, the parties’ conflicting claims are not yet completely resolved. The ICJ explicitly declined to address Nicaragua’s potential entitlement to the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from its coastal baselines, including the portion of Nicaragua’s ‘‘outer’’ continental shelf that allegedly overlaps with Colombia’s maritime entitlements. For the foreseeable future, this aspect of the controversy will likely remain unresolved. One week after the ICJ rendered its fourth judgment, Colombia withdrew from the Bogotá Pact and thereby terminated its consent to the ICJ’s jurisdiction.

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Variability of the nutrient stream near Kuroshio's origin

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-84420-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Chen-Tung Arthur Chen ◽

Ting-Hsuan Huang ◽

Chi-Hsuan Wu ◽

Haiyan Yang ◽

Xinyu Guo

Keyword(s):

Pacific Ocean ◽

Continental Shelf ◽

East China Sea ◽

Kuroshio Extension ◽

Subsurface Water ◽

East China ◽

The East China Sea ◽

High Productivity ◽

China Sea ◽

The Kuroshio

AbstractThe Kuroshio—literally “the Black Stream”—is the most substantial current in the Pacific Ocean. It was called the Black Stream because this oligotrophic current is so nutrient-poor in its euphotic zone that the water appears black without the influence of phytoplankton and the associated, often colored dissolved organic matter. Yet, below the euphotic layer, nutrient concentrations increase with depth while current speed declines. Consequently, a core of maximum nutrient flux, the so-called nutrient stream, develops at a depth of roughly between 200 and 800 m. This poorly studied nutrient stream transports nutrients to and supports high productivity and fisheries on the East China Sea continental shelf; it also transports nutrients to and promotes increased productivity and fisheries in the Kuroshio Extension and the subarctic Pacific Ocean. Three modes of the Kuroshio nutrient stream are detected off SE Taiwan for the first time: one has a single-core; one has two cores that are apparently separated by the ridge at 120.6–122° E, and one has two cores that are separated by a southward flow above the ridge. More importantly, northward nutrient transports seem to have been increasing since 2015 as a result of a 30% increase in subsurface water transport, which began in 2013. Such a nutrient stream supports the Kuroshio's high productivity, such as on the East China Sea continental shelf and in the Kuroshio Extension SE of Japan.

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