Bitcoin couple face death penalty for 'seastead' in international waters

abc.net.au

33 points·RileyJames··7 comments

Rule number 1 of international sovereignty which has been valid throughout human history.

You are sovereign iff you are able to defend your territory. If you cannot defend your territory you are not sovereign.

* There have been some exemptions for religious or cultural centers, or if you are a buffer between great powers but those have been rare.

Of all the places to set up a seastead, Thailand really isn't a great place. Beyond the military dictatorship currently in power, the country is very proud of its independence and the fact it was never colonized. It has a relatively strict rule of law.

Although international borders in the ocean exist, countries overlook them all the time.

If Thailand's navy attacks a vessel in international waters, does that count as piracy or an act of war?

A state military attacking a vessel in international waters is an act of war against the state whose vessel is attacked.

Of course, the whole point of seasteading is to avoid being subject to (and thus, protected by) any state, so...

So would it be acceptable for them to use deadly force to defend their vessel?

> So would it be acceptable for them to use deadly force to defend their vessel?

Acceptable to whom? The results of a stand-and-fight decision would probably not be acceptable to them.

You mean legally? If they're not registered under a country's flag, they are protected by no-one AFAIK. Human rights treaties apply I'm sure, but essentially without the protection of a flag they're outlaws, as I understand it.

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