Archipelagic state

[4] Some island countries comprise one or more archipelagos in a geographical sense, but chose not to claim the archipelagic state status, including Japan, Malta, New Zealand, Cuba, Iceland, and the United Kingdom.

[11] The terms and conditions for the exercise of such rights and activities, including the nature, the extent and the areas to which they apply, shall, at the request of any of the countries concerned, be regulated by bilateral agreements between them.

Both transit passage and ASLP regimes, with the ability to launch and receive aircraft, perform maneuvers and navigate underwater, are primarily designed for warships.

[14] The concept of an archipelagic state became a matter of consideration when the potential beneficiaries (Bahamas, Fiji, Indonesia, Philippines) gained independence post-World War II.

[1] At the same time, the economic activity involving the sea resources grew in importance, prompting, for example, the 1945 Truman Proclamation by the United States, 1955 and 1956 notes verbales of the Philippines, and the 1957 Djuanda Declaration by Indonesia.

The 1958 UNCLOS I established the rule of straight baselines that settled the issue for the islands of mainland countries, but not for the mid-ocean archipelagoes.

[16] UNCLOS III finally settled the issue prompted by a proposal submitted by Fiji, Indonesia, Mauritius, and the Philippines.