Maritime Zones Act 2009 (No. 10 of 2009).

This Act provides for the definition of: (a) the territorial sea; (b) Archipelagic waters; (c) the Contiguous Zone; (d) the Exclusive Economic Zone and (e) the Continental Shelf of Tonga. Rights of Tonga in respect of these maritime zones are declared and traditional fishing rights and other legitimate activities of the immediately adjacent neighbouring States in certain areas falling within archipelagic waters safeguarded. The Act also defines the baselines and the closing lines for internal waters of Tonga and provides for the application of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to Tonga. UNCLOS and any protocols, annexes, appendices and addenda to UNCLOS, are incorporated into and have the force of law in the Kingdom.
The territorial sea of the Kingdom shall be the sea between the baselines, prescribed under section 4, and a line every point of which is at a distance of 12 nautical miles from the nearest point of the baselines. Subject to the exceptions specified in UNCLOS, the sovereignty of the Kingdom extends to and has always extended to internal waters, archipelagic waters, historic waters and the territorial sea. The contiguous zone of the Kingdom shall be the area of sea between the territorial sea and a line every point of which is at a distance of 24 nautical miles from the nearest point of the baselines. The exclusive economic zone of the Kingdom shall be the area beyond and adjacent to the territorial sea of the Kingdom out to a line every point of which is at a distance of 200 nautical miles from the nearest point of the baselines. In accordance with international law and in particular UNCLOS, the delimitation of any maritime zone between the Kingdom and any State with an opposite or adjacent coast is to be effected by agreement on the basis of international law, as referred to in Article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice, in order to achieve an equitable solution. The Act also defines regulation-making powers of the Minister and offences.
Pursuant to UNCLOS, ships of all States, whether coastal or land-locked, shall enjoy the right of innocent passage through the territorial seas of the Kingdom. The sovereignty of the Kingdom extends to and has always extended to internal waters, archipelagic waters, historic waters and the territorial sea and also to the air space over internal waters, archipelagic waters, historic waters and the territorial sea, as well as to their beds and subsoil, and the resources contained in them. The Kingdom may exercise sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the continental shelf, exclusive economic zone, internal waters, historic waters, archipelagic waters, and the territorial sea in accordance with international law and UNCLOS. The Kingdom has jurisdiction in the exclusive economic zone in respect of the establishment and use of artificial islands, installations and structures; marine scientific research; and the protection of the marine environment. In order to ensure the effective implementation of the provisions of this Act, regulations may be made in the fields of maritime delimitation, protection of the marine environment, the passage of ships carrying hazardous waste, and nuclear and radioactive materials, and prevention of pollution from ships. Finally, this Act lays down offences and penalties for the violation of any provisions of this Act or any regulations made under this Act.