Proclamation of 30 September 1967 by the President concerning the territorial waters of India

Procla~ation of JO September 1967 by the President. Hhere;J.s international law has always recognised that the sovereignty of a St~te ext~nds to ~ belt of sea adjacent to its coast; ,md whereas international practice is not uniform as regards the extent of this sea-belt commonly known as the territorial waters of a State; And whereas by the Proclamation issued by the President of India on the 22no ~arch, 1956 and published with the notification of the Government of Indl~ tn the ~inlstry of External Affairs, N- S.R.O. 669, dated the 22nd ~arch, 1956, the territorial waters of India were declared to extend into the sea to a distance of six nautical miles ~easured from the appropriate base line and by the Proclamation issued by the President of India on the 3rd ~ecember, 1956, and published with the notification of the Government of India in the ~inistry of External Affairs, N- S.R.O. 2920, dated the 3rd December, 1956, the limit of contiguous zone was fixed at twelve nautical miles from the base line from which the width of the territorial waters is measured; And Hhereas under international law and customs, a State has the right to fix the limits of its territorial waters up to a distance of twelve nautical ~iles measured from the appropriate base line; Ano whereas several States have fixed the limits of their territorial waters up to a distance of twelve nautical miles from the appropriate baseline and such fixation is in consonance with the requirements and legitimate interests of all countries and especially the developing countries; And whereas the Republic of India has the obligation to ensure its effective control over as wide an area of the sea adjacent to its coast as is compatible with international law, in order to safeguard its territorial integrity and as a developing country to exploit and utilise the natural resources of the sea in an efficient manner; ~ow, therefore, in the Eighteenth Year of the Republic of India, I, Zakir Husain, President of India, hereby proclaim, in supersession of the Proclamations aforesaid, that the territorial waters of India extend into the sea to a distance of twelve nautical miles measured from the appropriate baseline.