Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has written a letter to Google asking the agency to rethink its choice to rename the Gulf of Mexico.
US President Donald Trump signed an government order requiring the physique of water – which is bordered by the US, Cuba and Mexico – be renamed the Gulf of America in his first week in workplace.
However it should solely seem on Google Maps with the brand new identify for folks primarily based within the US – elsewhere on the planet it should retain its present identify, which has been used for a whole lot of years.
There isn’t a worldwide organisation liable for the naming of our bodies of water.
However Mexico argues the U.S. can’t legally change the Gulf’s identify as a result of the United Nations Conference on the Legislation of the Sea dictates that a person nation’s sovereign territory solely extends as much as 12 nautical miles out from the shoreline.
“[The name change] may solely correspond to the 12 nautical miles away from the coastlines of the US of America,” Sheinbaum mentioned.
Google has not but responded to the BBC’s request for remark.
However in a press release on social media on Monday it mentioned: “We’ve a longstanding observe of making use of identify adjustments once they have been up to date in official authorities sources.”
It should additionally rename Mount Denali as Mount McKinley within the US, following one other order from Trump.
“When official names differ between nations, Maps customers see their official native identify,” it mentioned.
Sheinbaum has criticised Google’s choice, saying the agency shouldn’t reply to “the mandate of a rustic” to alter the identify of “a world sea”.
However she appeared to poke enjoyable at Trump’s transfer by joking Mexico could demand Google make some further renaming choices.
“By the way in which, we’re additionally going to ask for Mexican America to look on the map,” she mentioned.
Sheinbaum beforehand joked she would take into account renaming North America as “América Mexicana” within the nation.
“He says that he’ll name it the Gulf of America on its continental shelf,” Sheinbaum beforehand mentioned when Trump signed the manager order.
“For us it’s nonetheless the Gulf of Mexico, and for the whole world it’s nonetheless the Gulf of Mexico.”
