Black Sea Incident

• Integrity Education, Delhi
• 25, Jun 2021

Why in news: British Royal Navy’s HMS Defender arrives at the Black Sea port of Odessa, Ukraine

The Issue

• For decades, The Black Sea has been a flashpoint between Russia and its competitors such as Turkey, France, U.S. and the U.K.
• Russia seized and annexed the Crimea peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 and considers areas around its coast to be Russian territorial waters.
• Western countries deem the Crimea to be part of Ukraine and reject Russia’s claim to the seas around it.

What the Law says ?

Under international law of the sea, innocent passage permits a vessel to pass through another state’s territorial waters so long as this does not affect its security.

About Black Sea

• The Black Sea is a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia
• The Black Sea is bordered by Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine
• The Black Sea ultimately drains into the Mediterranean Sea, via the Turkish Straits and the Aegean Sea
• The Bosporus Strait connects it to the small Sea of Marmara which in turn is connected to the Aegean Sea via the Strait of the Dardanelles.
• To the north, the Black Sea is connected to the Sea of Azov by the Kerch Strait.