An Expert Explains | ‘Sri Lanka allowing Iranian vessel to dock does not mean it is siding with Iran’

In the early hours of Wednesday (March 4), a US submarine torpedoed and sank the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena — which was returning from an Indian Navy exercise in Visakhapatnam last month — off the coast of Galle, within Sri Lanka’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). At least 87 Iranian sailors were killed in the attack, which took place as part of the war between the US-Israel alliance and Iran, with Sri Lanka rescuing 32 sailors. On Friday, Sri Lanka began transferring more than 200 sailors from a second Iranian vessel that sought assistance while anchored outside the country’s waters. Vice Admiral Pradeep Chauhan (Retd), Director-General of the National Maritime Foundation, explains how marine boundaries work, whether the US was within its rights to attack the Iranian ship and why Sri Lanka’s act of allowing the second Iranian ship to dock should not be seen as “siding” with Tehran. ## The Iranian ship was attacked in Sri Lanka’s EEZ. What’s the difference between territorial sea, EEZ and continental shelf? Territorial sea: Under international law, specifically the United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea, 1982, every coastal State is entitled to claim territorial sea up to a maximum distance of 12 nautical miles from its coast (or a ‘baseline’). Countries enjoy complete sovereignty within this area — be it the sea, the airspace above it, or the seabed and subsoil. This sovereignty is subject only to the ‘Right of Innocent Passage’, which allows foreign ships to pass through a territorial sea as long as they do not threaten the coastal State’s security or violate its laws. EEZ: Every coastal State is entitled to claim an EEZ extending up to a maximum distance of 200 nautical miles. This is calculated from the same baseline as had been used to measure the territorial sea. Continental shelf: Countries can also claim a continental shelf, extending seaward up to a maximum of 350 nautical miles (once again from the same baseline), depending upon technical criteria specified by the 1982 UNCLOS. Unlike the territorial sea, countries cannot exercise sovereignty in the EEZ and continental shelf. Rather, they enjoy sovereign rights related to the living and non-living natural resources located within this zone. At the time of the engagement by the US submarine, the Dena was about 20 nautical miles west of Galle, which would be within the EEZ of Sri Lanka. According to Article 87 of UNCLOS, all States enjoy the “Freedom of Navigation and Overflight” beyond the outer limit of the territorial sea. The Dena and the US Navy submarine, therefore, did not need permission to transit the Sri Lankan EEZ. ## What law governs maritime military activities? The 1982 UNCLOS regulates peacetime activities and, therefore, explicitly reserves the high seas for peaceful uses. But that does not mean that countries cannot undertake naval warfare. Given that both Iran and the US are engaged in an international armed conflict, their conduct would be regulated by the Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC), which is also known as the International Humanitarian Law. The LOAC regulates actions during an armed conflict (jus in bellum), but does not regulate the recourse to armed force (jus ad bellum), which is enshrined in the UN Charter. The LOAC forbids hostile actions by belligerent forces within internal waters, territorial sea, and, where applicable, the archipelagic waters, of neutral States. But it explicitly permits operations in areas where neutral States enjoy sovereign rights, jurisdiction, or other rights under general international law, provided the belligerents have due regard for the legitimate rights of those neutral States. During the attack on the Dena, no violation of Sri Lanka’s rights in its EEZ was reported. Thus, the US Navy was legally justified in carrying out the engagement where it occurred. The law of naval warfare permits belligerents to undertake operations in every sea area that is not the territorial sea, internal waters, or archipelagic waters of a neutral State. This incident underscores the fact that navies do not fight like armies — deploying men, machines and ordnance across a line on the land — but engage wherever the enemy or their commerce might be found. The spatial extent of naval warfare depends solely upon the objectives and reach of the belligerents. ## Was India under any obligation to provide security to the IRIS Dena? No. After departing from Visakhapatnam on February 25, the Dena proceeded in accordance with the orders that it had received from its government. Under international law, every warship is regarded as the sovereign territory of its State. While the Indian Navy and the Iranian Navy have had a longstanding partnership, and while there is no doubt that the loss of lives aboard the Dena remains a tragedy, no responsibility can be assigned to India other than the universal one of the provision of assistance to injured or shipwrecked personnel. In this regard, the Indian Navy has said it is cooperating with the Sri Lankan Navy in the search and rescue operations. Naval warships, regardless of whether they are participating in a multilateral exercise, are invariably armed and carry on board such quantities of ammunition of all kinds as their governments and navies specify. This is a condition that is independent of any specific deployment or commitment. Sri Lanka has allowed an Iranian vessel, the IRIS Bushehr, to dock. Could this action be seen as Sri Lanka siding with Iran? Under the law of naval warfare, a “neutral” means any State that is not party to the conflict. In this case, Sri Lanka is clearly a neutral. Iran, on the other hand, is a belligerent. A neutral State may permit the passage of belligerent warships through its territorial sea without jeopardising its neutrality. It may permit a belligerent warship to replenish its food, water and fuel so that it can reach a port in its own territory. Neutral States can also carry out repairs of belligerent warships if it’s required to make them seaworthy. Such repairs, however, should not restore or increase the fighting strength. International law stipulates that belligerent forces may not use neutral waters as sanctuary. A belligerent warship cannot not extend the duration of its passage through neutral waters, or its presence in those waters for replenishment or repair, for longer than 24 hours unless unavoidable on account of damage or the stress of weather. If a belligerent State violates the regime of the neutral waters, the neutral State must take measures to terminate the violation. If it fails to do so, the opposing belligerent must notify the neutral State and give it a reasonable time to act. If the violation is still not terminated, and it poses a serious and immediate threat, the opposing belligerent may use such force as is necessary. Much will, therefore, depend upon how the US reacts to this action. It will not, however, automatically mean that Sri Lanka is siding with Iran in the ongoing conflict.