How to Use territorial waters in a Sentence

territorial waters

plural noun
  • Nor does the right to life change depending on whether killings took place in territorial waters or on the high seas.
    — Mary Ellen O'Connell, The Conversation, 4 Sep. 2025
  • The strait is in the territorial waters of both Oman and Iran.
    — ABC News, 8 Apr. 2026
  • The sub grounds on rocks within sight of the Sweden’s coast, deep in its territorial waters, and near to its biggest naval base.
    — John Hopewell, Variety, 27 Jan. 2026
  • Securing a government’s sign-off to enter its territorial waters can take a month or more.
    — Ramin Skibba, Scientific American, 27 May 2026
  • While Iran and Oman have their territorial waters in the strait, it’s viewed as an international waterway all ships can ply.
    — Jon Gambrell, Los Angeles Times, 11 Mar. 2026
  • While Iran and Oman have their territorial waters in the strait, it’s viewed as an international waterway all ships can ply.
    — Jon Gambrell, Chicago Tribune, 14 Mar. 2026
  • China, which views Taiwan as its own territory, says the strategic waterway is part of its territorial waters.
    — Reuters, NBC news, 13 Sep. 2025
  • However, no warplanes or warships had entered Taiwan’s territorial waters or airspace so far, Hsieh said.
    — Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 29 Dec. 2025
  • Both sides traded strikes amid efforts last week to open Oman’s territorial waters in the strait to both inbound and outbound ship traffic from the Persian Gulf.
    — Jon Gambrell, Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2026
  • The British Navy, meanwhile, reported a large explosion at a tanker anchored in Iraqi territorial waters.
    — Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 6 Mar. 2026
  • According to maps provided by Tokyo, neither spy ship entered Japan's territorial waters.
    — Ryan Chan, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Aug. 2025
  • The British Navy on Thursday reported a large explosion at a tanker at anchor in Iraqi territorial waters.
    — Spencer Kimball, CNBC, 5 Mar. 2026
  • If approved, an Iranian boat escorts the vessel through the territorial waters around Larak Island.
    — Anniek Bao, CNBC, 2 Apr. 2026
  • The Iranian planes crashed into Qatar’s territorial waters.
    — Mostafa Salem, CNN Money, 4 Mar. 2026
  • China, however, has asserted that foreign warships must obtain permission to pass through its territorial waters.
    — Micah McCartney, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Aug. 2025
  • The key shipping route, which Iran has effectively closed in response to US-Israeli strikes, lies in the two sides’ territorial waters.
    — Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 5 Apr. 2026
  • Ships, under international law, are freely allowed to traverse straits like Hormuz, which don’t fall within one country’s territorial waters.
    — Angelica Ang, Fortune, 23 Apr. 2026
  • The strait is considered around the world as an international waterway, despite being the territorial waters of Iran and Oman.
    — Jon Gambrell, Fortune, 27 June 2026
  • The Strait of Hormuz Before the war, ships freely passed through the Strait of Hormuz, in the territorial waters of Iran and Oman.
    — Jon Gambrell, Chicago Tribune, 8 Apr. 2026
  • The ships were told to divert from the middle of the strait in Iranian and Omani territorial waters and instead detour around Iran’s Larak Island.
    — David McHugh, Fortune, 9 Apr. 2026
  • The strait is considered as an international waterway, despite being the territorial waters of Iran and Oman.
    — Jon Gambrell, Chicago Tribune, 27 June 2026
  • The strait has long been considered an international waterway despite being in Iran and Oman’s territorial waters.
    — Jon Gambrell, Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2026
  • Since then, most ships seeking to exit or enter have sought approval from the IRGC, which mined the main channel and created another path through its territorial waters.
    — Jason Ma, Fortune, 30 May 2026
  • The strait is considered an international waterway, despite being the territorial waters of Iran and Oman.
    — Jon Gambrell, Los Angeles Times, 27 June 2026
  • The strait is considered an international waterway, despite being the territorial waters of Iran and Oman.
    — Arkansas Online, 28 June 2026
  • The strait has long been considered an international waterway despite its location in Iran’s and Oman’s territorial waters.
    — Jon Gambrell, Los Angeles Times, 28 June 2026
  • The strait has long been considered an international waterway despite its location in Iran’s and Oman’s territorial waters.
    — Jon Gambrell, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2026
  • The Fitburg was dragging its anchor in the sea, and was directed to Finnish territorial waters, the police and Finland's Border Guard said.
    — Reuters, NBC news, 31 Dec. 2025
  • The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea calls for countries to permit peaceful passage through their territorial waters.
    — Adam Schreck, Los Angeles Times, 7 May 2026
  • The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea calls for countries to permit peaceful passage through their territorial waters.
    — Arkansas Online, 8 May 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'territorial waters.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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