In addition to the right of innocent passage, all ships and aircraft can enjoy the more extensive right of archipelagic sea lanes passage through archipelagic waters. Article 53(3) of the LOSC defines the right of archipelagic sea lanes passage:Archipelagic sea lanes passage means the exercise in accordance with this Convention of the rights of navigation and overflight in the normal mode solely for the purpose of continuous, expeditious and unobstructed transit between one part of the high seas or an exclusive economic zone and another part of the high seas or an exclusive economic zone.The principal elements of the right of archipelagic sea lanes passage can be summarised:(i) As with the right of transit passage, the right of archipelagic passage applies between one part of the high seas or an EEZ and another part of the high seas or an EEZ.(ii) All ships and aircraft enjoy the right of archipelagic sea lanes passage in such sea lanes and air routes under Article 53(2). The right of archipelagic sea lanes passage contains the rights of overflight by aircraft. In common with the right of transit passage, foreign warships and military aircraft have the right of archipelagic sea lanes passage.(iii) Like the right of transit passage, archipelagic sea lanes passage must be the exercise of the rights of navigation and overflight solely for the purpose of continuous, expeditious and unobstructed transit.On the other hand, as Articles 39, 40, 42 and 44 of the LOSC apply mutatis mutandis to archipelagic sea lanes passage by virtue of Article 54, ships and aircraft during their passage are under the duties provided in those provisions. Furthermore, Article 53(5) requires that ships and aircraft in archipelagic sea lanes passage shall not deviate more than 25 nautical miles to either side of such axis lines, i.e. the centre line, during passage. At the same time, this provision holds that such ships and aircraft shall not navigate closer to the coasts than 10 per cent of the distance between the nearest points on islands bordering the sea lane. There are two different interpretations with regard to this provision.According to the first interpretation, the phrase ‘10 per cent of the distance between the nearest points on islands' means the whole width of the channel between the bordering islands. If the channel is 40 nautical miles, for example, the two prohibited zones would each measure 4 nautical miles. As a consequence, the sea lane would be 32 nautical miles wide and a maximum deviation would be 16 nautical miles. According to this interpretation, only if the channel between islands is at least 62.5 nautical miles wide, will the full deviation of 25 nautical miles on either side of the axis line be permissible. In the second interpretation, the formula set out in Article 53(5) means 10 per cent of the distance from the axis line to the nearest island. In this case, the narrowest channel, which allows ships and aircraft to deviate by 25 nautical miles from the axis of the…
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