Qit'at Jaradah
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Persian Gulf |
| Coordinates | 26°10′41″N 50°54′00″E / 26.178°N 50.90°ECoordinates: 26°10′41″N 50°54′00″E / 26.178°N 50.90°E |
| Archipelago | Bahrain |
| Adjacent bodies of water | Persian Gulf |
| Total islands | 1 |
| Area | 48 m2 (520 sq ft) (at high-tide) 45,000 m2 (480,000 sq ft) (at low-tide) |
| Highest elevation | 0.4 m (1.3 ft) (at high tide) |
| Administration | |
| Governorate | Muharraq Governorate |
| Demographics | |
| Demonym | |
| Population | 0 (2016) |
| Pop. density | 0 /km2 (0 /sq mi) |
| Additional information | |
| Time zone | |
| ISO code | BH-14 |
| Official website | www |
Qit'at Jaradah is a cay in the Persian Gulf off the east of Bahrain Island, located 32 km (20 mi) east of Manama, the capital of Bahrain. Historically, it is above water only during spring low tide and is approximately mid-way between Bahrain and Qatar, within the 12 miles (19 km) territorial water of both countries. It was one of several maritime features contributing to a long running dispute with Qatar.
While historically not considered an island, Bahrain claimed in 2000 that Qit'at Jaradah measured approximately 12 by 4 metres (39 ft × 13 ft) at high tide with an elevation of approximately 0.4 metres (1 ft 4 in) and 600 by 75 metres (1,969 ft × 246 ft) at low tide. The opposing view is that it is a low-tide elevation. It is uninhabited and without vegetation.
Bahrain first claimed ownership of the cay in 1936, which was reinforced by the British Maritime Boundary Award of 1947. Qit'at Jaradah would be in Qatari water with respect to the equidistant line that otherwise divides the nations in this area. The British were influenced by the de-facto operations of oil companies at the time. Although awarded to Bahrain, it was not classified as an island with territorial water of 3 miles (4.8 km). This was consistent definition of an lsland of the Geneva Conference of 1958 which required an island to be above water level at high tide. However, in 1959 the British attempted reclassify Qit'at Jaradah as an island, as did the government of Bahrain in 1964. This claim was rejected by Qatar in 1965, which then sought international arbitration. Nothing occurred since neither nation was a member of the United Nations until 1971. By 1986, Qatar declared several disputed areas, including Qit'at Jaradah, as military zones. Nearing conflict, the situation was resolved with pressure by Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE to resume the status quo ante. Saudi Arabia, through the Gulf Cooperation Council attempted to negotiate a permanent agreement but was unsuccessful. Qatar again sought arbitration by the International Court of Justice at the Hague.
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Wikipedia