India Expands Claim in Arabian Sea by 10,000 sq. km

⚓ INTERNATIONAL

April 29, 2025
Thematic Focus: Maritime Security | UNCLOS | GS Paper 2 & 3

🕊️ Intro Whisper:

Where land ends, nations still speak — through sonar, treaties, and silent tectonic lines.

🔹 Key Highlights: India Expands Claim in Arabian Sea by 10,000 sq. km

• India submits new claim to UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS)
• Extends continental shelf rights by ~10,000 sq. km in central Arabian Sea
• Revised submission avoids direct overlap with Pakistan to reduce dispute

🌐 EEZ vs Extended Continental Shelf

• EEZ: 200 nautical miles from coast – exclusive rights over fishing, mining, oil
• Extended Continental Shelf: Seabed beyond EEZ; requires scientific proof of geological continuity
• India’s ambition: Secure an area nearly equal to its landmass under seabed jurisdiction

🗺️ Timeline of India’s Maritime Claims

• 2009: Initial claim to CLCS covering Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea
• 2025: Modifies claim in Arabian Sea, breaks it into two submissions
• Pakistan contests overlap in west; India’s new plan avoids direct friction
• India–Oman: Bilateral agreement to resolve overlaps amicably

🧪 Role of Scientific Institutions

• NCPOR (Goa) → key player in geophysical data collection
• Used sonar mapping, seismic readings, core sampling
• Scientific proof is essential for CLCS approval of outer limits

🛢️ Economic & Geopolitical Implications

• Resource Access: Minerals, oil, gas on seabed
• Energy security boost for India
• Enhances India’s role in UNCLOS compliance and maritime diplomacy
• Strengthens blue economy and seabed sovereignty narrative

🧭 Concept Explainer:

India’s oceanic ambition mirrors a tectonic reality: the Earth’s crust doesn’t obey borders. The continental shelf claim is a subterranean statement of power, backed not by navies, but by geology, diplomacy, and the silent science of sonar.

🧾 GS Mapping:

• GS Paper 2: International Relations | UNCLOS | Maritime Disputes
• GS Paper 3: Resources | Blue Economy | Strategic Geography

💠 A Thought Spark — by IAS Monk:

“When a nation’s voice dives below sea level, it echoes through minerals, not maps.”