When it ratified the LOS Convention in 1996, Finland confirmed its declaration on signature in part that:
It is the understanding of the Government of Finland that the exception from the transit passage regime in straits provided for in article 35(c) of the Convention is applicable to the strait between Finland (the Åland Islands) and Sweden. Since in that strait the passage is regulated in part by a longstanding international convention in force, the present legal regime in that strait will remain unchanged after the entry into force of the Convention. Navigational Regimes of Particular Straits, Aland case study, Aland case study, Finland, Gulf of Bothnia, international straits, legal regime in that strait, Particular Straits