Kiribati is an archipelagic nation that is composed of three separate island groups. These groups include the Gilbert Islands, Line Islands and Phoenix islands. Tokelau, on the other hand, is a dependent territory of New Zealand. In 2012, Tokelau established its maritime boundary with Kiribati’s Phoenix Islands in the south-central Pacific Ocean.

The equidistance methodology was used in delimiting the overlapping maritime entitlements of these two States. The boundary is comprised of five points; two end points and three interior turning points. The boundary traverses west to east across the South Pacific for 433 nautical miles. For Kiribati, the primary contributing features from its Phoenix group were Nikumaroro, Orona and Manfu Islands, while from Tokelau the contributing features were Atafu, Nukunonu and Fakaofo Islands.