"The sea is the common possession of all nations. It belongs equally to all. No one can take it entirely to themselves; nor is it 'foreign' to anyone."
This was the decision of John Marshall, chief justice of the United States from 1801 to 1835. It was made known as a basic rule of the sea that no one, and therefore everyone, owns the ocean. This means that outside territorial waters (the waters within three miles of a country's coast), the law is whatever nations agree on in peacetime and whatever the strongest navy powers can enforce in wartime.
After the United States bought Alaska, Americans began to seize Canadians who were hunting seals outside Alaska territorial waters. The Americans said that the seals were American possession because they often came into the Alaskan shores owned by the United States. International judges disagreed with this reasoning. In some cases, however, the special rights of a nation that makes good use of an open-sea area are recognized.
All of the sea's rules are set up by international conferences and agreements.
5. The basic rule of the sea means that _________.
A. any powerful nation may control the sea
B. any area of the sea belongs to the nation closest to it
C. no one has whole rights to the open sea
D. no nation has any sea rights
6. International judges decided that _________.
A. Canada had no sealing rights off Alaska
B. the Canadians could hunt the seals
C. the United States could own the seals
D. the Americans could not hunt the seals
7. Nations may obtain special rights on open waters by_________ .
A. overrunning those waters B. guarding the waters C. using the waters regularly D. spreading out their territorial waters
8. The main idea of this passage is that _________.
A. the rule of the sea was made known by John Marshall
B. some nations are able to acquire special open-sea rights
C. every nation owns its territorial waters
D. the laws of the sea should be set up by international agreements