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'File 86/66 Status of Kuwait Bay and Extent of Territorial Waters in Kuwait' [‎9r] (21/42)

The record is made up of 1 file (21 folios). It was created in 25 Jul 1946-21 Jul 1947. It was written in English and Arabic. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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COPY
2xt 7166/46.
(T 16430/1^11^380)
Dear Harrison,
FOREIGSI GIT ICE, S. .1.
17th October, 1946.
.3
I ar»-i replying to your letter to Clarke of the 26th
August last about status of the waters of Koweit Bay.
Since the question was last discussed in 1940, the
question of the exploitation of dll deposits situated outside
territorial waters, but in close proximity to the coast, has
been the subject of considerable discussion, and the tendency
now is to regard it as relat ed rather to the ownership of the
sea bed than to that of the waters above, which questions are
governed in international law by widely different principles.
It is possible therefore that the right to exploit oil
in Koweit Bay may be determined independently of the status of
the waters of the Bay, but this matter is still awaiting
decision, and in the meantime it would be well to assemble
all available evidence in support of the view that Koweit Bay^
is a territorial inlet belonging to Ko./eit,
The kind of evidence required is broadly indicated in
paragraph 4 of the Admiralty letter of the 12th June 1940, in
which they say that the claim to regard Kowcit Bay as a ,
territorial inlet would rest not only on configuration but also
on the grounds that territorial rights are necessary for
defence and neutra-lity and that the Bay is secluded from normal
traffic routes. The Admiralty seemed to assume that there would
be no difficulty in establishing the territorial status of the
Bay on these grounds. It would be very helpful nevertheless
if concrete evidence of the long standing exercise of jurisdiction
over the waters of the Bay could be produced in the shape of laws
for the control of navigation over the whole bay, within the
limits indicated in tne Admiralty letter, such as laws and
regulations regarding customs, lighting, buoying, harbour
and other dues, fisheries, etc., especially if thuse have been
applied without protest to forei gn vessels using the Bay,
F. A. K. Harrison, Esq, ,
India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. ,
Yours sincerely,
(Signed) R, Dunbar.

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Content

The file concerns the question of whether Kuwait Bay (also referrred to in the papers as Koweit Bay) was an historic bay (or territorial inlet) [an area of water over which a coastal state has asserted soverignty over a long period of time, and with the acquiescence of other nations], and the precise extent of Kuwait's territorial waters. The issue arose from an enquiry raised with the India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. by the Kuwait Oil Company in 1940 about how to settle details of oil concessions, but which had not been investigated fully because of the intervention of World War Two. The file contains correspondence on the subject between the India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. , the Ministry of Fuel and Power, the Admiralty, the Foreign Office, the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Bahrain, and the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Kuwait, July 1946 - July 1947 (including reference to the issue of ownership of the seabed under international law for the purposes of extracting oil, and discussion of the ways in which the Sheikh of Kuwait could assert his title to the bay); and resultant correspondence in Arabic and English between the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Kuwait (Major Maurice Patrick O'Connor Tandy) and the Ruler of Kuwait (Sheikh Sir Ahmed al Jabir As-Subah) containing a request from the Agency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent. that the Ruler inform the Kuwait Oil Company in writing that the territory of the State of Kuwait included Kuwait Bay, as defined within precise maritime co-ordinates, July 1947.

Extent and format
1 file (21 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in chronological order from the front to the rear of the file. Circled serial nunbers (red for incoming correspondence, blue for outgoing correspondence) would have referred to entries in the notes, but these are not present.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation system in use commences at 1 on the front cover, and continues through to 19 on the back cover. The sequence is written in pencil and appears in the top right hand corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. page of each folio. Foliation anomalies: ff. 1, 1A, 1B. The following folio needs to be folded out to be read: f. 7.

Written in
English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script
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'File 86/66 Status of Kuwait Bay and Extent of Territorial Waters in Kuwait' [‎9r] (21/42), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/1/708, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100022698591.0x000016> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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