HL Deb 05 February 1987 vol 484 cc416-7WA
Lord Kennet

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What is the maximum limit at which they recognise a coastal state's exclusive rights on the continental shelf.

The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Baroness Young)

The maximum limit is that established in accordance with international law. In many places, the maximum limit is 200 nautical miles from the coastal state's baselines, but in some places it lies beyond, on the basis of the criterion of "natural prolongation" on the land mass.