Continental Shelf From The Perspective Of The Law Of The Sea: An Introduction

The entitlement of a coastal State over the seabed and subsoil in front of its landmass is provided for in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS), in particular Article 76 for the continental shelf. This short note in Malay gives a brief introduction to the concept of the “continental shelf” in the context of Article 76. This concept is important as a means by which coastal States may establish the outer limit of their continental shelves beyond 200 nautical miles (M) measured from the territorial sea baselines. Once the outer limits have been established, coastal States are then able to exercise with certainty their sovereign rights over the extended continental shelf for the purposes of exploring and exploiting the natural resources of the seabed and subsoil, as provided for by UNCLOS. The establishment of the outer limits of the continental shelf beyond 200 M is based on the principle of natural prolongation of land territory in Article 76. Geology also plays an important role in the process of determining the extent of the prolongation in accordance with the provisions of Article 76. For authors and students of this topic in Malay, it is proposed that the synonymous Malay terms for continental shelf – “pelantar benua” and “pentas benua” – be given specific meanings for use in their legal and geological contexts, respectively.