March 2016. The Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS), a body established by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), adopted on March 11 a presentation submitted by Argentina to extend its outer limit through the expansion of its continental shelf.
UNCLOS assures that every country has at least 200 nautical miles of continental shelf but allows presentations to countries that claim a larger area on the grounds that their continental margin extends naturally beyond 200 miles.
The Argentine presentation was submitted in 2009 as the result of hard scientific work and strong political determination from various governments for over 12 years.
The adoption of this presentation now recognizes an additional area of 1,782,500 km2, equivalent to about 48% of the Argentine mainland. As a result, the Argentine continental shelf now comprises a total area of 6,581,000 km2 (173% of the mainland).
The waters surrounding Malvinas Islands lie within the Argentine continental shelf area recognized by the CLCS, which then strengthens Argentina’s position concerning the sovereignty dispute with the United Kingdom over the archipelago.
