territorial waters
plural noun
: the waters under the sovereign jurisdiction of a nation or state including both marginal sea and inland waters
Examples of territorial waters in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea defines a coastal state's territorial waters as extending up to 12 nautical miles (13.8 miles) from its coastline, while its exclusive economic zone extends a further 200 nautical miles (230 miles) beyond that.
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Ryan Chan, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 May 2025
The China Coast Guard claimed that the patrol around the Senkaku Islands was carried out in accordance with the law, referring to the Coast Guard Law that was introduced in 2021, which gives permission to fire on foreign vessels within territorial waters claimed by Beijing.
—Ryan Chan, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 May 2025
Pope Francis used final Easter address to call for Gaza ceasefire
The Maltese government said maritime authorities had received a mayday call shortly after midnight local time from a vessel outside of territorial waters, with 12 crew members and four civilians on board, reporting a fire.
—Christopher Scicluna and Ilze Filks, USA Today, 2 May 2025
Any country can allow deep-sea mining in its own territorial waters, roughly up to 200 nautical miles from shore, and companies are already lining up to mine U.S. waters.
—Ernest Scheyder and Jarrett Renshaw, USA Today, 26 Apr. 2025
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Ryan Chan, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 May 2025
The China Coast Guard claimed that the patrol around the Senkaku Islands was carried out in accordance with the law, referring to the Coast Guard Law that was introduced in 2021, which gives permission to fire on foreign vessels within territorial waters claimed by Beijing.
—Ryan Chan, MSNBC Newsweek, 5 May 2025
Pope Francis used final Easter address to call for Gaza ceasefire
The Maltese government said maritime authorities had received a mayday call shortly after midnight local time from a vessel outside of territorial waters, with 12 crew members and four civilians on board, reporting a fire.
—Christopher Scicluna and Ilze Filks, USA Today, 2 May 2025
Any country can allow deep-sea mining in its own territorial waters, roughly up to 200 nautical miles from shore, and companies are already lining up to mine U.S. waters.
—Ernest Scheyder and Jarrett Renshaw, USA Today, 26 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for territorial waters
Cite this Entry
“Territorial waters.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/territorial%20waters. Accessed 24 May. 2025.
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