DISINFO: UK violated the 1982 law of the Seas Treaty
SUMMARY
The UK violated the 1982 law of the Seas Treaty when its destroyer "Defender" entered Russian territorial waters in a provocative manner.
Crimea has returned to the Russian body with a popular referendum, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has confirmed that the Crimea issue has been closed, which is a fair decision.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about the status of Crimea and the maritime movement in the Black Sea.
The British Ministry of Defense denied that the “provocation incident” had occurred or that the ship was in Russian waters, stating that the HMS Defender was engaged in innocent passage through the Ukrainian territorial sea in accordance with international law, as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told reporters, “… We were doing so in accordance with international law and the Russian characterisation is predictably inaccurate.”
All ships, including warships, enjoy a right of innocent passage through the territorial sea under UNCLOS, Article 17. The passage is innocent so long as it is not prejudicial to the peace, good order or security of the coastal state.
Until this date, there is no evidence that the British destroyer was engaged in any prohibited activity at the time of the alleged incident. Rather, British authorities indicated that the HMS Defender was conducting a routine transit from Odesa to Georgia using an internationally recognised traffic separation corridor in the Black Sea.
Russia has occupied Crimea in March 2014, and so far no international body has recognised the so-called popular referendum in Crimea thus the illegal annexation of the area, not the UN, nor the EU or the UK.
See similar disinformation cases about the occupation of Crimea in our database such as the Crimea issue is finally closed following the results of the referendum, Crimea - peacefully and legitimately - became part of Russia; or that Russia occupied Crimea to keep NATO ships out; or that the alleged coup d'etat of Maidan caused a referendum that united Crimea with Russia.