Pulau Miangas is simply the northernmost feature in a chain of Indonesian archipelagos called Sangihe, Talaud, Kawio and Nanusa trending northwards from the eastern tip of Sulawesi and the northern tip of Halmahera. Further, Indonesia is an archipelagic state and like the Philippines is entitled to draw archipelagic baselines around the outermost points of its outermost islands and drying reefs.