Russia Apparently Declares the End of "International Waters," Joining China

Under the United Nations Convention on the the Law of the Sea, "international waters" means waters not part of the "territorial sea" of a nation and there is a 12-mile limit:

Every State has the right to establish the breadth of its territorial sea up to a limit not exceeding 12 nautical miles . . .

"High Seas" (what most of think of as "International Waters") are defined in Art.86 of UNCLOS:

all parts of the sea that are not included in the exclusive economic zone, in the territorial sea or in the internal waters of a State

As we have seen, China has taken a a more aggressive position on "territorial waters" apparently to include "historic waters we have once sailed in" or "historic fishing areas." See here, here, and here for examples.

It occurs to me that Russia, seeing how this unlawful but also virtually unanswerable (short of war) brute force approach has succeeded for China, is now playing the same game in both the Baltic and Black Sea. See here and here.

Take a look at this nice bit of political jujitsu which blames the U.S. and its allies of the "crime" of coming too close to Russian waters (not in them, but close) and provoking the latest incident of Russian planes low flying over a U.S. ship, as set out in

Russia sought to turn the tables on the United States on Wednesday, accusing the U.S. Navy of maneuvering aggressively near the Russian border in the Baltics and promising it would use “all necessary measures” to address future incidents.

According to the Russians, the incident in question occurred Apr. 11, when a U.S. destroyer drew near Kalingrad in the Russian territorial enclave between Lithuania and Poland.

“This is about attempts to exercise military pressure on Russia,” Russian envoy to NATO Alexander Grushko told reporters after a NATO-Russia council meeting on Wednesday, according to Reuters. “We will take all necessary measures, precautions, to compensate for these attempts to use military force.”

On the nearby map, I have circled the Russian territory of Kahlingrad Oblast, which is, as you see,

surrounded by independent countries, i.e. isolated from Russia, a situation I am sure Putin would like to change. But there are those pesky NATO countries in the way, Lithuania and Poland.

In any event, we are seeing the old bully ploy of "it's your fault that I will attack you." Picture Putin as "Biff," if you will.

Bullies will be bullies, of course, so long as they can get away with it.

Worse, though, is that the concept of some sort of international law governing where Russian (or Chinese, for that matter) right end and begin is very obviously broken.

Putin has pushed this with his "little green men" in Ukraine and with his prior incursion into Georgia. The Chinese have pushed it by just grabbing parts of the South China Sea and daring anyone to push them off their artificial islands.

If you think either one of these thug nations won't hesitate to play the 12-mile limit when it suits them as a means of expanding their territory, you are most naive. And just wait until we get to the Arctic.

Russian Aircraft Take a Sightseeing Tour in the Baltic, Visit U.S. Navy Ship and Manage Not to Crash

Well, the U.S. Navy is doing Freedom of Navigation ops and helping its allies train. Some people just don't seem to like that. Or, as the Navy press release puts it: US Navy Ship Encounters Aggressive Russian Aircraft in Baltic Sea:

Sightseeing Aircraft

A United States Navy destroyer operating in international waters in the Baltic Sea experienced several close interactions by Russian aircraft April 11 and 12. USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) encountered multiple, aggressive flight maneuvers by Russian aircraft that were performed within close proximity of the ship.
On April 11, Donald Cook was conducting deck landing drills with an allied military helicopter when two Russian SU-24 jets made numerous close-range and low altitude passes at approximately 3 p.m. local. One of the passes, which occurred while the allied helicopter was refueling on the deck of Donald Cook, was deemed unsafe by the ship's commanding officer. As a safety precaution, flight operations were suspended until the SU-24s departed the area.

Not as good as Maverick

On April 12, while Donald Cook was operating in international waters in the Baltic Sea, a Russian KA-27 Helix helicopter conducted circles at low altitude around the ship, seven in total, at approximately 5 p.m. local. The helicopter passes were also deemed unsafe and unprofessional by the ship's commanding officer. About 40 minutes following the interaction with the Russian helicopter, two Russian SU-24 jets

Russian Eggbeater Stirs the Baltic Sea

made numerous close-range and low altitude passes, 11 in total. The Russian aircraft flew in a simulated attack profile and failed to respond to repeated safety advisories in both English and Russian. USS Donald Cook's commanding officer deemed several of these maneuvers as unsafe and unprofessional. Quotes: "April 11-12, USS Donald Cook was operating in a professional manner in international waters conducting operations and exercises with our allies in the Baltic Sea." "In my judgement these maneuvers in close proximity to Donald Cook are unprofessional and unsafe." -Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe-Africa, Adm. Mark Ferguson

Yes, well, bullies are going to be bullies.

 I hope the deck gang gave the Russian helicopter taking pictures some nice Hawaiian good luck signs.

More pictures and videos here.