§ Mr. Peter Archerasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth 455W Affairs what, in the view of Her Majesty's Government, are the minimum dimensions which qualify a rock to be considered an island for the purposes of the definition of the term "archipelagic State", as proposed by Her Majesty's Government to the United Nations Seabed Committee on 2nd August 1973.
§ Mr. AmeryThe 1958 Convention on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone (Article 10) defines an island as
a naturally-formed area of land, surrounded by water, which is above water at high tide".No question of dimension arises.
§ Mr. Peter Archerasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will publish a map showing the perimeter of the United Kingdom archipelagic State according to the definition of that term proposed by Her Majesty's Government to the United Nations Seabed Committee on 2nd August 1973.
§ Mr. AmeryOur proposal was not made primarily in relation to the status of the United Kingdom but in an effort to contribute to a general settlement of the question of archipelagos which is on the agenda for the United Nations Law of the Sea Conference. We have made no specific proposals regarding archipelagic status for the United Kingdom, and no such map has been prepared.
§ Mr. Peter Archerasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether Rockall would be within the perimeter of the United Kingdom archipelagic State according to the definition of that term in the draft article proposed by Her Majesty's Government to the United Nations Seabed Committee on 2nd August 1973.
§ Mr. Peter Archerasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Channel Islands would be included within the United Kingdom archipelagic State, according to the definition of that term in the draft article proposed by Her Majesty's Government to the United Nations Seabed Committee on 2nd August 1973.