[Senate Executive Report 115-3]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
115th Congress } { Exec. Rept.
SENATE
2d Session } { 115-3
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TREATY BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE
GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KIRIBATI ON THE DELIMITATION OF MARITIME
BOUNDARIES, SIGNED AT MAJURO ON SEPTEMBER 6, 2013
_______
May 15, 2018.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Corker, from the Committee on Foreign Relations,
submitted the following
REPORT
[To accompany Treaty Doc. 114-13B]
The Committee on Foreign Relations, to which was referred
the Treaty Between the Government of the United States of
America and the Government of the Republic of Kiribati on the
Delimitation of Maritime Boundaries, signed at Majuro on
September 6, 2013 (Treaty Doc. 114-13B), having considered the
same, reports favorably thereon with one declaration, as
indicated in the resolution of advice and consent, and
recommends that the Senate give its advice and consent to
ratification thereof, as set forth in this report and the
accompanying resolution of advice and consent.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose..........................................................1
II. Background.......................................................2
III. Implementing Legislation.........................................3
IV. Committee Action.................................................4
V. Committee Recommendation and Comments............................4
VI. Text of Resolution of Advice and Consent to Ratification.........4
I. Purpose
According to the President's Letter of Transmittal, the
purpose of the Treaty Between the Government of the United
States of America and the Government of the Republic of
Kiribati on the Delimitation of Maritime Boundaries, signed at
Majuro on September 6, 2013, (hereinafter, the ``Kiribati
Maritime Boundary Treaty'' ) is to establish the United States
maritime boundary in the South Pacific Ocean with the
neighboring country of the Republic of Kiribati. The Treaty
establishes three maritime boundaries totaling approximately
1,260 nautical miles in length between Kiribati and the United
States islands of Palmyra Atoll, Kingman Reef, Jarvis Island,
and Baker Island.
II. Background
The committee notes that a more detailed article-by-article
analysis of this Treaty may be found in the Letter of Submittal
from the Secretary of State to the President dated October 28,
2016, reprinted in Treaty Document 114-13B. What follows is a
brief summary of the key provisions of the Treaty as provided
in Treaty Document 114-13B:
The Kiribati Maritime Boundary Treaty establishes three
maritime boundaries in the Pacific Ocean with respect to the
exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and continental shelf generated
by various Kiribati islands and by each of the U.S. islands of
Palmyra Atoll, Kingman Reef, Jarvis Island, and Baker Island.
Consistent with similar maritime boundary treaties between
the United States and other countries, this Treaty defines the
limits within which each Party may exercise EEZ and continental
shelf jurisdiction off the coasts of their respective islands.
The three boundaries with Kiribati, taken together, are
approximately 1,260 nautical miles in length.
The boundary lines are established on the basis of
equidistance. As the Acting Legal Adviser of the State
Department testified to the committee, the method of
equidistance is a long-standing approach consistent with
international law and practice with respect to delimiting
boundaries. In fact, Congress has used the equidistance method
as far back as 1805 with respect to a law concerning the
establishment of boundaries of public lands.\1\ Under the
equidistance method, every point on an equidistance line is
equal in distance from the nearest point on the coastline of
each Party.
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\1\An Act Concerning the Mode of Surveying the Public Lands of the
United States, 2 Stat. 313 (1805); see also Texas v. Louisiana, 426
U.S. 465, 468-70 (1976) (citing the Convention on the Territorial Sea
and the Contigious Zone, Sep. 15, 1958, 15 U.S.T. 1606, and relying on
the equidistance method in defining the lateral seaward boundary
between Texas and Louisiana).
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With appropriate technical adjustments, the Treaty
formalizes boundaries that have been informally adhered to by
the Parties, and that are very similar to the existing limit
lines of the EEZ asserted by the United States for decades and
published in the Federal Register.
The administration has informed the committee that, because
of improved calculation methodologies and minor coastline
changes, the new maritime boundaries in this Treaty will result
in a small net gain of United States EEZ and continental shelf
area relative to the existing limit lines of our EEZ. The form
and content of the Treaty is very similar to previous maritime
boundary treaties between the United States and other Pacific
island countries that have entered into force after receiving
the Senate's advice and consent. The Treaty consists of seven
articles.
Article I states that the purpose of the Treaty is to
establish the maritime boundaries between the two countries.
The Treaty identifies the relevant United States territory as
Palmyra Atoll, Kingman Reef, Jarvis Island, and Baker Island.
Article II of the Treaty sets out its technical parameters,
stating that, for the purpose of the Treaty the North American
Datum 1983 and the World Geodetic Datum 1984 (``WGS 84'') are
considered identical. Further, the article states that, for the
purpose of illustration only, the boundary lines have been
drawn on maps annexed to the Treaty.
Article III lists the turning and terminal points of
defining the maritime boundaries. This article defines three
distinct boundary lines: for the boundary line between the
United States Baker Island and the Kiribati Phoenix Islands
group, six points are connected by geodesic lines that measure
332 nautical miles in total; for the boundary line between the
United States Jarvis Island and the Kiribati Line Islands
group, ten points are connected by geodesic lines that measure
548 nautical miles in total; and for the boundary line between
the U.S. islands of Palmyra Atoll and Kingman Reef and the
Kiribati Line Islands group, five points are connected by
geodesic lines that measure 383 nautical miles in total.
Article IV sets forth the agreement of the Parties that, on
the opposite side of each maritime boundary, each Party shall
not ``claim or exercise for any purpose sovereignty, sovereign
rights, or jurisdiction with respect to the waters or seabed or
subsoil.''
Article V provides that the establishment of the boundaries
shall not affect or prejudice either side's position ``with
respect to the rules of international law relating to the law
of the sea, including those concerned with the exercise of
sovereignty, sovereign rights, or jurisdiction with respect to
the waters or seabed or subsoil.''
Article VI sets forth the agreement of the Parties that any
dispute arising from the interpretation or application of the
Treaty shall be resolved by negotiation or other peaceful means
agreed upon by the Parties.
Article VII provides that the Treaty shall enter into force
after the Parties have exchanged notes indicating that each has
completed its internal procedures to bring the Treaty into
force.
The Acting Legal Adviser of the State Department testified
to the committee, with respect to the Kiribati Maritime
Boundary Treaty and the Treaty Between the Government of the
United States of America and the Government of the Federated
States of Micronesia on the Delimitation of a Maritime
Boundary, that:
The treaties do not limit how we may choose to manage,
conserve, explore, or develop the U.S. EEZ and
continental shelf consistent with international law;
they merely clarify the geographic scope of our
sovereign rights and jurisdiction consistent with
international law and with longstanding unilateral U.S.
practice, and they reinforce other countries'
recognition of the U.S. EEZ and continental shelf
entitlements around the U.S. islands in question.
III. Implementing Legislation
The executive branch has indicated that the United States
does not need implementing legislation to implement the
Treaty.\2\ Accordingly, no new legislation is necessary or is
being sought in conjunction with the Treaty. The Resolution of
Advice and Consent to Ratification includes a declaration
stating that the Treaty is self-executing.
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\2\Treaty Doc. 114-13B at VI, Letter from John F. Kerry, Secretary
of State, to the President, Oct. 28, 2016.
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IV. Committee Action
The committee held a hearing to consider the Treaty on
December 13, 2017. The hearing was chaired by Senator Risch.
The committee considered the Treaty on March 20, 2018, and
ordered the Treaty favorably reported by voice vote, with a
quorum present and without objection, with the recommendation
that the Senate give advice and consent to its ratification, as
set forth in this report and the accompanying resolution of
advice and consent to ratification.
V. Committee Recommendation and Comments
The Committee on Foreign Relations believes that
ratification of the Kiribati Maritime Boundary Treaty will
further the national interests of the United States and
recommends the Senate give its consent to ratification of this
Treaty. Ratification will strengthen our ties and cooperation
with the Republic of Kiribati. Further, ratification will
delimit our boundaries with the Republic of Kiribati in a
manner that closely follows limit lines long asserted by the
United States for our exclusive economic zone. The committee
notes the assertions of the executive branch that the United
States will achieve a small gain in maritime area with
ratification of the Treaty.
The committee has included in its resolution of advice and
consent one proposed declaration, which states that the
Kiribati Maritime Boundary Treaty is self-executing. This
declaration is consistent with the view of the executive
branch. Historically, the Senate has not routinely included
statements regarding the self-executing nature of treaties in
resolutions of advice and consent, but in light of the Supreme
Court decision, Medellin v. Texas, 552 U.S. 491 (2008), the
committee has determined that a clear statement in the
resolution is warranted. A further discussion of the
committee's views on this matter can be found in Section VIII
of Executive Report 110-12.
VI. Resolution of Advice and Consent to Ratification
Resolved, (two-thirds of the Senators present concurring
therein),
SECTION 1. SENATE ADVICE AND CONSENT SUBJECT TO A DECLARATION.
The Senate advises and consents to the ratification of the
Treaty between the Government of the United States of America
and the Government of the Republic of Kiribati on the
Delimitation of Maritime Boundaries, signed at Majuro on
September 6, 2013 (the ``Treaty'') (Treaty Doc 114-13B),
subject to the declaration in section 2.
SEC. 2. DECLARATION.
The Senate's advice and consent under section 1 is subject
to the following declaration: The Treaty is self-executing.
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