During the top executive orders signed by the new US President Donald Trump on Monday (Jan 21), the mention of renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America grabbed attention. In his speech at the inaugural ceremony, the 47th US president said America will “claim its rightful place as the greatest, most powerful, most respected nation on earth".
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Trump has previously talked about this plan at a press conference at Mar-a-Lago in early January. The 78-year-old claimed that renaming the marginal ocean is both justified and falls in the border vision of America.
Gulf of Mexico - What is it?
The Gulf of Mexico is a viral body of ocean in North America. It spans across 600,000 square miles and is known as the ninth-largest water body in the world.
The Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum had shown a map from the year 1607 earlier in January in which the Gulf of Mexico was present. The map even called North America as "Mexican America".
Who is the owner of the water body?
The US State Department says the maritime border in the Gulf of Mexico between the US and Mexico starts from the mouth of the Rio Grande.
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According to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, The Submerged Lands Act (SLA) of 1953 grants individual states rights to the natural resources of submerged lands from the coastline to no more than 3 nautical miles into the Atlantic, Pacific, the Arctic Oceans, and the Gulf of Mexico.
So, in a broader term, the US has control over most parts of the water body and Mexico has authority over its part. But there is an exception. The state jurisdiction extends in Texas and the west coast of Florida from the coastline to no more than 3 marine leagues into the water body.
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The Importance of Gulf of Mexico for the US
The Gulf of Mexico hosts around 50 per cent of the US petroleum refining and natural gas processing capacity. Hence, it plays a significant role in the economy of America. It produces around 97 per cent of all US Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil and gas production.
Is Trump capable of renaming it?
John Nyberg, the director of the International Hydrographic Organization, told The New York Times in an email that there is no official agreement to rename maritime areas.
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The US Board on Geographic Names, a part of the United States Geological Survey, has mentioned on its official website that it considers renaming areas for "compelling" reasons only. It says that “the most important policy regarding names is local use and acceptance".
Although changing the name of the water body was not subject to an executive order, Trump claimed it would happen in a "short time".
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(With inputs from agencies)