The 1997 Australia-Indonesia maritime boundary treaty: A secure legal regime for offshore resource development?

• Published in: Ocean development and international law 1998-10, Vol.29 (4), p.361-396
• Main Authors: Herriman, Max, Tsamenyi, Martin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Australia; Australia: Foreign relations; Boundaries; boundary; Coastal state rights; Conservation; CONTINENTAL SHELF; delimitation; Environmental protection; exclusive economic zone; Exclusive Economic Zone boundary; Exclusive economic zones; Indonesia; Indonesia: Foreign relations; installations; Installations and structures; International agreements; International law; Jurisdiction; Law; LAW OF THE SEA; Law of the sea conference, 1973-82; Marine; MARINE RESOURCES; Marine scientific research; Maritime borders; Maritime law; Natural resources; Ocean floor; Oceans; Offshore; Overlapping zone; Resource development; Resource exploitation; Resource management; Scientific research; seabed; Sovereign rights; Sovereignty; Territorial claims; Territorial waters; Timor Sea; TREATIES; United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
• ISSN: 0090-8320; 1521-0642
• DOI: 10.1080/00908329809546132

The Treaty between the Government of Australia and the Government of the Republic of Indonesia Establishing an Exclusive Economic Zone Boundary and Certain Seabed Boundaries was signed in Perth, Australia, on March 14, 1997. The Treaty establishes an area of overlapping jurisdiction in the Timor Sea in which the exclusive economic zone of Indonesia overlays the continental shelf of Australia. Although the 1992 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea does not provide well for such a situation, and many other provisions of the Law of the Sea Convention relate to the coastal state in a manner which leaves the question of state rights and responsibilities vague for the overlapping area, the Treaty between Australia and Indonesia relies excessively on the Law of the Sea Convention to govern the relationship between the two states and fails to address the important issue relating to, inter alia, installations and structures, marine environmental protection, and marine scientific research. Therefore, if a secure and stable regime for resource development is to be achieved under the Treaty, Australia and Indonesia might need to supplement the Treaty with some further instrument or instruments of clarification, such as, for example, a protocol to the Treaty or a series of memoranda of understanding.