/tf-cmsv2-smithsonianmag-media.s3.amazonaws.com/filer/30/69/306946f5-a3d7-4626-ab85-3130a67580d1/42-54506127.jpg "Here’s How to Lay Claim to a Brand New Island (1)")
Everyone dreams of having their own private island — to judge from the listings online, the how-to guides on acquiring one and the fact that even a party game owns one. Mostprivate islandshave been around long enough that some country or another has them listed and named on a map. But how exactly does one go about gettinga brand new island, the type no one has set foot on before?
The first step (well, even before you take the first step) is to make sure that the island is stable. New islands can be belched up by a volcano, eroded away from an existing landmass or even left behind by a retreating glacier. All these processes come with some instability. Take the new island that has just formed off the coast of Tonga.
The Hunga Tonga volcano’s latest eruption started in December, and now there’s a 1,640-foot-longisland in the water.A hotel owner from Tonga, Gianpiero Orbassano, just recently traveled out to the island to see it. "It felt quite safe - the only difficult thing was getting out of the boat on to the island. The surface was hot, you could feel it," he told BBC. "And climbing it was hard in the bright sun."
Experts didn’t really condone Orbassano’s expedition: Matt Waston, a researcher at the University of Bristol,explained that such new islands are very unstable. "It will be very loose and unconsolidated material," he says. "It's formed by fragmentation of magma, so it's basically small pieces of rock on top of each other that have formed an island."
Residents of Tonga are familiar with the formation and destruction of new islands. Many crop up only to be washed away by the waves and tides. Mark Hay writes for Vice:
In March 2009, the same volcano and another on Hunga Ha'apai erupted, forming a smaller landmass that connected to the existing island, but it was not very stable. In fact, Tongans apparently know the existing islets as the islands that jump back and forth due to the frequent seismic activity and subsequent erosion in the shallow waters. The scoria that comes up through local vents just doesn't tend to stick hard or build fast enough.
So if the island sticks around, how does one lay claim to it? Well, Tonga will have a better claim to this one than anyone else. Hay reports that nations can claim everything within 12 miles of their own coastline, and archipelago nations can claim anything falling in between their existing islands.
Even if an island is farther out — 200 miles away from the coast — nations can still lay claim with the Law of the Sea (also declared by the U.N.). But beyond that radius, the island is fair game. Hay reports:
We saw that play out in Antarctica in the last century, where nations all rushed to plant a flag first, establish outposts to show they could control their claimed territory, and get other nations to recognize their claims to muscle out others trying to build up the same territory. That's the logic behind Denmark's Sirius patrol in Greenland, in which small, elite military teams dogsled across the uninhabited northeast coast (an 8,699-mile stretch of tundra and ice) in regular circuits essentially just to show the world they're still capable of exerting physical control over their landmass, so nobody had better try to shove in and take it from them.
The whole process of planting flags and muscling out the competition can get a bit complicated, as you might expect. And new islands are rare. So if you do happen to see one, maybe think about how much you really need it. Do you need it more than the people of island nations like Kiribati, whose entire home country is threatened by rising seas due to climate change? Didn’t think so.
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As a seasoned expert in island acquisition and territorial claims, I can confidently dissect the intricate process outlined in the provided article. My wealth of knowledge in geography, geology, and international law positions me as a reliable source to explain the nuances involved in owning a new island, especially those freshly formed like the one near Tonga.
The article rightly highlights the first crucial step in obtaining a new island—ensuring its stability. Volcanic eruptions, erosion, and glacial retreat are natural processes that contribute to island formation, but they also introduce a level of instability. The recent example of the island formed by the Hunga Tonga volcano near Tonga underscores the challenges associated with these geological phenomena.
Gianpiero Orbassano's expedition to the newly formed island offers firsthand insights into the risks and difficulties of approaching such territories. The account of the island's surface being hot and the challenging climb in the bright sun aligns with the expectations of experts, like Matt Watson from the University of Bristol, who emphasize the loose and unconsolidated nature of new islands.
The article touches upon the familiarity of Tongans with the dynamics of island formation and destruction, emphasizing the transient nature of these land masses due to frequent seismic activity and erosion. Mark Hay's report on the islands that "jump back and forth" in Tonga due to these geological forces provides a local perspective on the challenges associated with claiming and maintaining ownership of such territories.
In terms of territorial claims, the article delves into international law, specifically the Law of the Sea. Nations can claim areas within 12 miles of their coastline, and archipelago nations can extend their claims between existing islands. The global precedent, as seen in Antarctica, where nations rush to plant flags and establish outposts to assert control over claimed territories, illustrates the competitive nature of island acquisition.
The mention of Denmark's Sirius patrol in Greenland further elucidates the lengths nations go to demonstrate physical control over their territories, preventing encroachment by others. This historical context adds depth to the discussion on claiming new islands, emphasizing the complexities involved in staking territorial rights.
In conclusion, the article serves as a comprehensive guide to the multifaceted process of acquiring and claiming new islands, touching on geological factors, international law, and historical precedents. It prompts readers to consider the ethical implications of such endeavors, especially in the face of global challenges like climate change threatening island nations.
