Kiribati is an island State located in the Pacific Ocean with territory spread among the Phoenix Islands, Line Islands and Gilbert Islands. The United States of America controls several islands in the Pacific, five of which are within 400 nautical miles of Kiribati and necessitate a maritime boundary. In 2013, Kiribati and the United States signed an agreement delimiting all their areas of overlapping maritime entitlements. The Agreement established three separate line segments between the various features. One of the defined boundaries is between Kiribati’s Line Islands and the United States’ Palmyra Atoll and Kingman Reef, which extends for 383 nautical miles between the two territories. All the maritime boundaries were established based on the principle of equidistance.

Kiribati and the United States share two additional maritime boundaries, located between the Line Islands–Jarvis Islands and the Phoenix Islands–Baker & Howland Islands.