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File 4480/1923 Pt 2 ‘Persian Gulf: Naval Incidents: Visits of British Warships to Persian Ports: Persian Territorial Waters Bill.’ [‎508v] (1027/1662)

The record is made up of 1 volume (823 folios). It was created in 22 Nov 1923-8 May 1934. It was written in English and French. 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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2. Mr. Secretary Amery will have observed from tc. despondence ending with
Admiralty letters of the 25th February and the 6th March, that the boundary line at
the mouth of that river has already been the subject of detailed examination in this
department and the Admiralty. This correspondence, which has no doubt already
been forwarded to the High Commissioner, will have shown Kim that, even apart
from any fresh complication which might possibly be introduced by the passage of a
Persian Territorial Waters Bill claiming a right to exercise police supervision ir x
zone extending to a limit of 8 nautical miles from the Persian coast, the situation is
one of no little complexity and might well give rise to serious difficulties between
Iraq and Persia.
3. It will be seen from paragraph 7 of their letter of the 25th February that,
on the information at present available, the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty
are of opinion that the Abadan and Abdullah banks cannot at present be regarded
as territory. If this view is correct, the Pooka Channel lies in the open sea; and as
His Majesty’s Government have never admitted and have always objected to the
lijiitd
claims of foreign States to exercise rights of jurisdiction or control over the waters of ,
3-mile limit of their territorial waters, they could logically
the high seas outside the 3-
refuse to admit a Persian claim to exercise jurisdiction over this channel. But the
Persian Government may not share this view, and if they were able to establish that
the Abadan Bank is territory, their claim would probably be much more difficult to
refute. It would, therefore, seem useful if the High Commissioner could arrange for
a fresh survey to be unostentatiously carried out, every precaution being taken to
avoid arousing Persian suspicions, and the actual situation of the Persian and Iraqi
coast lines at low-water spring tides to be precisely ascertained, with a view to the
possibility of refuting such a Persian claim, taking into account the fact that, in the
opinion of His Majesty’s Government, the base line for the determination of the limit
of territorial waters is the line of mean low T -water spring tides, following the
sinuosities of the coast.
4. Even if, however, it can be abundantly established that the Abadan and
Abdullah banks are not territory, the position would still be liable to lead to disputes,
as there seems to be no universally recognised principle of international law
governing the lateral limitation of the territorial waters at the mouth of a river
between the two riparian States. Persia might, therefore, claim jurisdiction over at
least a part of the navigable channel between the Pooka Channel and the river mouth.
Although it might be possible to resist such a claim on the lines suggested m
paragraph 8 of the Admiralty letter of the 25th February, and although even n a
part of the channel were in Persian territorial waters, there would still be a right o
innocent passage along it, it is clearly desirable in the interests of Iraq to avoid t e
possibility of disputes of this nature by agreeing to the adoption of some such scheme
as that advocated in the two memoranda enclosed in the Foreign Office letter of
Iste Secret*
ft; i,
iTu.
7th March. By placing the whole waterway of the Shatt-el-Arab, includin
and Persian territorial waters and (so far as concerns ships of the contractingbtaesj
the Pooka Channel, under the control of the proposed conservancy board, on v
Persia is to be adequately represented, such inducements to Persia as may at present
exist to raise contentious issues of this nature will be removed. Sir M IS f
Chamberlain agrees entirely with the view of the High Commissioner tha
uncertainty of the present situation at the mouth of the river is an argument v ic
should prove of primary importance for persuading the Iraqi Government o
necessity^for a general settlement with Persia on the lines now under considera^
5. I am to add that any claim by Iraq, whether based on legislation or n °b ^
control the Pooka Channel would be inconsistent with the views of His Majes
Government in the United Kingdom, as stated in paragraphs III (c) and
memorandum sent last December to the League of Nations in reply to the Sc e
of Points regarding Territorial Waters,” drawn up by the Preparatory Oomim
for the First Codification Conference. . , *i r
6. Copies of this correspondence are being sent to the Admiralty, e
Ministry, the Board of Trade, the Dominions Office and 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. ; and a p
of a despatch to Sir R. Clive is enclosed herein, for Mr. Amery’s information.
‘I am, &c.
MONTE ACrhE. mi
o

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Content

This volume contains papers, mostly correspondence and 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. Political and Secret Department minute papers, relating to naval incidents in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and visits of British warships to Persian ports.

It includes correspondence regarding the following: the Persian Government’s objection to British shipping, including HM Ships, calling at Persian ports without notice; the reporting of movements of British warships in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ; the treatment of HM ships in Persian ports, including Persian quarantine and customs procedure at Henjam and Abadan; incidents which took place on the occasions of the visits of HM Ships Lupin and Crocus to Abadan and Bunder Abbas [Bandar Abbas] respectively; the Persian draft bill regarding territorial waters; discussions between the Admiralty and the Foreign Office concerning the drafting of an article to regulate visits of British warships to Persian ports, for inclusion in a General Treaty between Britain and Persia; and new regulations imposed by the Persian Government in connection with the landing of officers and crews and of visits of vessels to Persian ports.

The main correspondents are as follows: 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 Foreign Office (including the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Sir Austen Chamberlain); HM Minister, Tehran (Sir Percy Lorraine, Sir Robert Henry Clive, and Sir Reginald Hervey Hoare, successively); HM Chargé d’Affaires, Tehran; the Admiralty; the Colonial Office; the Minister of Court, Persia (Mirza Abdul Hussein Khan Taimourtache [Abdolhossein Teymūrtāsh, also spelled Teymourtache in the correspondence]); the Persian Minister for Foreign Affairs; 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 Government of India Foreign and Political Department; the Senior Naval Officer, Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ; and the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies.

The file includes several documents in French, including: correspondence between Sir R H Clive and Taimourtache; copies of documents entitled ‘Projet de Loi portant Réglement des Conditions d’Admission des Bateaux étrangers dans les Eaux persanes’ (Draft Law Regulating the Conditions of Admission of Foreign Vessels in Persian Waters) ‘Traduction de l'Instruction adressée par l'Administration centrale de l'Hygiène à ses Fonctionnaires au golfe Persique’ (Translation of the instructions sent by the Public Health Department to its officials in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ) and ‘La Quarantaine à Henjam’ (Quarantine in Henjam); correspondence between HM Minister, Tehran, and the Persian Minister for Foreign Affairs; letters from the Director of Customs, Bushire, to HM Consul, Bushire; and articles of draft General Treaty with Persia.

The volume includes a divider which gives the subject number, the year the subject file was opened, the subject heading, and a list of correspondence references by year. This is placed at the back of the correspondence.

Extent and format
1 volume (823 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the rear to the front of the volume.

The subject 4480 ( Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ) consists of two volumes, IOR/L/PS/10/1098 and IOR/L/PS/10/1099. The volumes are divided into two parts, with each part comprising one volume.

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 825; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel between ff 114-119; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.

Written in
English and French in Latin script
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File 4480/1923 Pt 2 ‘Persian Gulf: Naval Incidents: Visits of British Warships to Persian Ports: Persian Territorial Waters Bill.’ [‎508v] (1027/1662), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/10/1099, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100069901563.0x00001c> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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