These concerns in particular seem misplaced, as they appear to ignore the
fact that the majority of potential maritime boundaries around the world
remain undelimited.
While it can be argued that defining maritime boundaries
represents a useful way for a ‘new’ State to assert its sovereignty and sover-eign rights, demonstrate its legal authority and thus bolster its legitimacy, such
an action is by no means compulsory. It seems excessive to suggest that a
coastal state is not fully independent in the absence of comprehensive mar-itime delimitation. If this were the case, then there would be precious few
‘independent’ coastal states around the world.