The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia issued an official statement expressing its deep concern and interest regarding the lists and maps deposited by the Republic of Iraq with the United Nations, which included coordinates that constitute a clear encroachment on parts of the submerged divided area, adjacent to the land divided area between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the State of Kuwait.
The Kingdom explained in its statement that these coordinates not only affect the shared rights in the divided region, but also extend to constitute a violation of the sovereignty of the sisterly State of Kuwait over its territorial waters and maritime heights, specifically the areas of “Fasht Al-Qaid” and “Fasht Al-Aij”, which is contrary to the international and bilateral agreements concluded.
The legal and historical context of maritime boundaries
This Saudi position is based on well-established international legal precedents. The Kingdom has stressed the necessity of Iraq's adherence to UN Security Council Resolution 833 of 1993, the binding international document that delineated the land and maritime borders between Kuwait and Iraq following the Second Gulf War. This resolution is a cornerstone of stability in the northern Arabian Gulf region, and any violation of it constitutes a breach of international law.
The Kingdom also based its rejection of the Iraqi coordinates on the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which regulates the delimitation of maritime borders between coastal states, stressing that the submerged divided area is subject to joint sovereignty with regard to natural resources between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait exclusively, and no third party has the right to claim any rights therein.
The strategic importance of the divided zone
The Divided Zone (both onshore and offshore) holds immense strategic and economic importance for both Riyadh and Kuwait, as it contains vital oil and gas fields jointly managed, such as the Khafji and Wafra fields, in addition to the Dorra gas field in the offshore area. Recent years have witnessed high-level coordination between the two countries to develop these resources in a way that serves the interests of both nations, making any overlap in coordinates a direct threat to economic development plans and energy security in the region.
A call for wisdom and dialogue
In closing its statement, the Kingdom reiterated its rejection of any claims that infringe upon its rights and the rights of Kuwait in this region, calling on the Iraqi side to prioritize reason and wisdom, and to resort to constructive dialogue to resolve any differences in accordance with the principles of good neighborliness and international law, in order to preserve the security and stability of the region and strengthen the fraternal relations between the three countries.
