CO129-602-5 Limits of territorial waters 27-10-1949 - 9-12-1949 — Page 15

53848/49

M.0.1906/49

The Colonial Office, The Church House,

Great Smith Street,

S.W.1.

23 November, 1949.

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4

Dear bards,

Thank you for your letter of the lat November, 1949, in which you referred to the Governor of Hong Kong's telegram No. 1144 about the limits of the Colony's territorial waters off the western coast of Iantao. I attach a copy of the section of the Hong Kong Interpretation urdinance of 1911 to which refere: is made.

2.

It is apparent from the telegram that Hong Kong have no qualms about their right to exercise jurisdiction in waters within the boundaries described in the 1911 ordinanos (which except for a discrepancy in the south west corner correspond with the boundaries of the area leased under the Feking Conventic of 1898) and they are in doubt only as regards khás-dévorayamay <ww. the waters off the western coast of Tantao which lie

outside these bouniarie

3.

I find after examining pre-war papers that the preliminary question of the limits of Hong Kong territorial waters was considered by the admiralty, Foreign office and Oolonial ofrios in 1937. It was recognised then not only that the boundaries shown in the map attached to the 1898 Convention excluded certain places what would normally be the territorial waters attached to part of the territory leased but also that those boundaries included waters well beyond the customary three mile limit accepted by international usage, although I now

C.G.M. QARDO, ESQ.,

ADMIRALTY.

/understand