To benefit the country's life and death, how can we avoid it due to good fortune and misfortune? ——Lin Zexu
As we all know, since the Opium War in 1840, our country has been a semi-colonial society for more than a century. Not only is the country’s sovereignty no longer, but even the people have been deeply exploited and oppressed by imperialism.
Fortunately, under the leadership of Chairman Mao, our people stood up and announced the founding of New China on October 1, 1949. However, although the New China was established, the domestic and international situations still have not calmed down, and "territorial waters" are a very serious issue.
If this issue is not handled well, the imperialist strong ships and guns are likely to continue to threaten the security of our country's territory. Finally, in 1958, Chairman Mao determined my country's territorial sea line to be 12 nautical miles based on the actual situation.
At that time, although the United States and other countries were unconvinced and provoked our country many times in Kinmen, Chairman Mao used cannons to let them know how powerful it was. In 1982, the Third Law of the Sea " United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea " stipulated that "all states have the right to determine territorial waters not exceeding 12 nautical miles."
Although this convention was negotiated by the United Nations , it actually adopts my country's territorial sea line standards. So, what’s the story behind this? Let’s talk about this topic today.
The earliest territorial sea line standard
What is a territorial sea line? Simply put, it means "a state's sovereignty extends beyond its land territory and internal waters to an area of sea adjacent to its coast, which is called territorial sea." This definition was only introduced in 1958. appeared, but the concept of "territorial sea" appeared very early.
During the European Middle Ages, Italian jurists Azzo and Bartolas proposed that any country has ownership of a certain range of coastal areas. This ownership was later defined as "a continuation of territory."
So, how is this "territorial sea scope" determined? In 1566, Spain, which had a powerful navy, had a saying that "within the limits seen on the land", this distance was about 14 nautical miles.
Of course, this is just a statement and has not been adopted internationally. Later, with the development of science and technology and the rise of the industrial revolution , the cannons on ships became a standard for determining the territorial sea line, which is about 3 nautical miles. Why does
say this? The main reason is that the range of cannons at that time was only 3 nautical miles. If a cannon was set up on the coast, it would not be able to hit it beyond 3 nautical miles. No matter how far the coastline was, it would be useless.
However, with the further development of cannon technology, the range of cannons in some countries has gradually increased, and the "3 nautical miles" setting has gradually been abandoned. However, around 1878, the United Kingdom took the lead in announcing the "Territorial Sea Jurisdiction Act", which further defined the "3 nautical miles" standard.
Subsequently, military developed countries such as Germany and Japan also agreed to this principle. Since then, 3 nautical miles has gradually been recognized internationally. Since the range of artillery is already far beyond 3 nautical miles, why is the territorial sea line still determined to be 3 nautical miles? Doesn’t this reduce the country’s territorial waters?
In fact, from another perspective, the so-called "international norms" are rules set by powerful countries for weak countries. Why the UK must set a standard of 3 nautical miles is because this distance is good for them.
In the 19th century, Britain was the most developed capitalist country in the world, and it was also the empire on which the sun never set. He was always lingering at the door of other people's homes. Who dared to go to the coast of Britain to make noise? The "3 nautical mile" rule does not apply to them at all.
In addition, there are many straits and other areas in Europe and America. If the territorial sea line is determined to be 3 nautical miles, then there must be a certain range of "high seas", and British ships can pass through it without fear.
Take the Strait of Gibraltar as an example. It is about 14.3 kilometers. If the territorial waters of 12 nautical miles are followed, then British ships insisting on passing through it will violate the sovereign integrity of coastal countries.
However, if the territorial sea line of 3 nautical miles is determined, then there must be an area in the middle of the strait that is high seas and does not belong to any country. Even if warships stay there and have a serious deterrent effect, it does not violate other countries' sovereignty.
Simply put, the setting of the width of the territorial sea line allows British ships to travel through many narrow straits in the world reasonably and legally. It can be seen that 3 nautical miles is also a kind of dominance for powerful naval countries over weak naval countries.
The Development of the Territorial Sea Line
Of course, the 3 nautical miles is not fixed. The United Kingdom can stipulate this in the face of weak countries, but it dare not do so in the face of powerful countries of the same strength, such as the United States and the Soviet Union. After the U.S. Navy became stronger, it determined that its territorial waters were 6 nautical miles, while the Soviet Union's was between 3 and 12 nautical miles.
Obviously, British warships at that time did not dare to approach the coastlines of these two powerful countries at will. After all, where were the ranges of their cannons? So wandering around at will is tantamount to provocation, and you may take a cannonball at any time.
Then again, during the Republic of China, the National Government followed the standards set by the United Kingdom and set my country's coastline at 3 nautical miles. However, the National Government's naval strength is simply not good, or it has almost no navy.
Under such circumstances, even if it follows the internationally recognized norm of 3 nautical miles, a naval power like the United Kingdom will still not have any scruples. It can also be seen from here that the territorial sea line is also based on the comprehensive strength of the country. If you have the range of a cannon, you will be strong, and others will bring you into the rules.
has no cannon range. Even if someone else's warship arrives at your door, you can only stare and do nothing. During the Nationalist Government, the reason why imperialism showed off its power in our territorial waters was due to poverty and weakness.
After the founding of New China, our country attaches great importance to the sovereignty and integrity of its territory. Resist US aggression and aid KoreaIsn't that the case! Later, as my country's comprehensive national strength continued to improve, it also had its own requirements for territorial sea lines and maritime sovereignty.
The time came to 1954, the second year after the end of the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea. Chairman Mao once visited the Dagu Fort for an inspection, and he was quite emotional. Perhaps it was at this time that he had an idea about China's territorial waters.
In fact, although imperialism was driven out of mainland China and our country's inland rivers at that time, it frequently appeared in the maritime areas surrounding our country, posing a great threat to our country's territorial security.
It was under such circumstances that Chairman Mao believed that it was necessary to formulate a new territorial sea line rule in order to protect our country's sovereignty and security. Not long after, a "small meeting" began in our country.
my country’s territorial sea line was determined to be 12 nautical miles.
At that time, Chairman Mao, Premier Zhou, Ni Zhengyi and others mentioned the first international law codification conference held in 1930. More than 40 countries participated in this meeting. Although each country has different claims on territorial waters, military powers such as the United States, Britain, and Japan believe that 3 nautical miles is the standard.
The reason is also very simple. The larger the territorial sea line, the stronger the protection for some weak countries. The smaller the territorial sea line, the more convenient it is for the invasion of some powerful countries. The United States, Britain, Japan and other countries, because of their strong military power, can do nothing even if others disagree, so the international standard of 3 nautical miles has been established since then.
In reality, what is the situation in our country? As we all know, our country's coastline is very long, and there are many straits, such as Bohai Strait , Qiongzhou Strait , etc. If we follow the standard of 3 nautical miles, it is a great threat to our country.
Take Bohai as an example. The entrance to the Bohai Sea is roughly 22 nautical miles wide. If 3 nautical miles are used as the standard and the 6 nautical miles on both sides are removed, a total of 16 nautical miles in the middle belong to the high seas. Under this circumstance, foreign ships can shuttle at will, directly threatening my country's Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and other regions.
If the territorial sea line is adjusted to 12 nautical miles, then the range involved will be 24 nautical miles. In other words, the entrance to the Bohai Sea is our country's territorial sea line, and the Bohai Sea has changed from an open sea to an inland sea of our country, which is very important for protecting our country's sovereignty. Big meaning.
At the meeting at that time, some people were in favor of 12 nautical miles because it is of great significance to protect our country’s sovereignty. But some people agree with the international standard of 3 nautical miles, because our navy and air force were relatively weak at that time, and a dispute was likely to trigger a war.
Under such circumstances, Chairman Mao thought about it and decided to adopt the 12 nautical mile standard, making the Bohai Sea an inland sea of China. Of course, it is also because our country's artillery range has reached 12 nautical miles, which is the most important thing. What was the subsequent result of
?
At that time, the Kuomintang, with the support of the United States, wanted to "counterattack the mainland", the Kinmen Artillery Battle happened. In this battle, our country's artillery played a great role, and its 12-nautical-mile range protected our country's interests.
After the Kinmen artillery battle, the 12 nautical miles were officially determined. In general, it took a long time from the initial agreement to the final formation. Around 1958, my country issued the "Declaration of the People's Republic of China on Territorial Seas."
The statement announced: " The width of the territorial waters of the People's Republic of China is 12 nautical miles. All foreign aircraft and military ships are not allowed to enter China's territorial waters and airspace without China's permission..." At the same time, my country's territorial waters have expanded several times.
When my country determines its territorial waters in this way, other countries naturally do not recognize it. Once the US fleet came within the 12 nautical miles of territorial waters off our coast. After repeated persuasion, they still refused to leave, so a salvo of artillery fire along our coast drove the U.S. combined fleet directly 12 nautical miles away.
Since then, although imperialist warships still threaten our country, they no longer dare to set foot in the 12-nautical-mile territorial waters. This is true knowledge within the range of cannons. Of course, all this is inseparable from Chairman Mao’s persistence.
The time came to 1982, when the United Nations Third Law of the Sea Conference was held. In this meeting, it was stipulated: "All countries have the right to determine territorial waters not exceeding 12 nautical miles." As mentioned above, although this territorial sea line is established by the United Nations, it is somewhat affected by our country's standards.
Since 1982 to the present, the international territorial sea line has been 12 nautical miles and has not changed. Judging from today's results, I have to say that Chairman Mao is far-sighted, far-reaching, and sees the problem very thoroughly, and has determined our country's 12-nautical-mile territorial line.
What do you think about this?
