Perhaps the most important of the "crown jewels" the international maritime community achieved in negotiating the 1982 United Nations' Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) was the inclusive, globally assured right of transit passage through, over, and under international straits. As provided in Part Ⅲ of UNCLOS, transit passage "applies in straits which are used for international navigation between one part of the high seas or exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and another part of the high seas or EEZ." It contains two criteria: geographic, meaning the strait must connect two bodies of international water and airspace; and functional, meaning the strait must be used for international navigation. Moreover, the right includes all vessels and aircraft, including military craft and submarines, so long as they are operating in their "normal modes" (Article 39.1(c)). Although all vessels and aircraft must proceed through or over the strait in "continuous and expeditious transit," "without delay," and consistent with the U.N. Charter and UNCLOS (Articles 38, 39), the strait state(s) may not "hamper" vessels or aircraft in transit. Additionally, they must advise of any dangers to navigation and may not suspend passage during peacetime (Article 44).
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