All waters seaward of the territorial sea of the United States, except waters officially recognized by, the United States as the territorial sea of another country, under international law
The entire ocean beyond the three-mile limit where not nation has special privileges or jurisdiction (note: nations now claim 10 mile, 12 mile, or more limits)
This term, in municipal and international law, denotes all that continuous body of salt water in the world that is navigable in its character and that lies outside territorial waters and maritime belts of the various countries, also called OPEN SEA
The high seas is used to refer to the sea. battles on the high seas. The open waters of an ocean or a sea beyond the limits of the territorial jurisdiction of a country: piracy on the high seas. the high seas the areas of ocean around the world that do not belong to any particular country. In maritime law, the waters lying outside the territorial waters of any and all states. In the Middle Ages, a number of maritime states asserted sovereignty over large portions of the high seas. The doctrine that the high seas in time of peace are open to all nations was first proposed by Hugo Grotius (1609), but it did not become an accepted principle of international law until the 19th century. Activities permitted on the high seas include navigation, fishing, the laying of submarine cables and pipelines, and overflight of aircraft