Colombian President Abelardo De la Espriella plans to sign a Nov. 30 decree setting maritime baselines for the San Andres, Providencia and Santa Catalina Archipelago, Anadolu Agency reported. The coordinates would be added to Colombia’s official nautical charts, the agency reported.
Baselines are reference points from which a country measures its maritime zones around the archipelago. Anadolu reported that the Colombian government expects the measure to bolster security, support commercial navigation and support local fishing rights.
Colombia’s Law 10 of 1978 calls for baselines to be defined for the mainland, the San Andres and Providencia archipelago and other island territories, with the lines shown on official maritime charts. Anadolu reported that mainland coordinates were established in 1984, while the islands lacked equivalent technical definitions. The planned decree would carry that charting requirement through for the island group covered by the statute.
The archipelago is part of a long-running territorial and maritime dispute between Colombia and Nicaragua that has been heard at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The court said a 1928 treaty had settled sovereignty over San Andres, Providencia and Santa Catalina. In 2012, it found Colombia held sovereignty over seven other named features and drew a single maritime boundary between the two countries. In 2023, the ICJ rejected Nicaragua’s claim to an extended continental shelf.
De la Espriella announced the signing plan during a national address Sunday, Anadolu Agency reported. The planned signing on Nov. 30 is the next scheduled step.
