The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea took effect in 1982. It introduced a exclusive economic zone (EEZ) to the territories of all nations with an ocean coastline. Several Southwest Pacific island nations found themselves responsible for policing an area of ocean that was beyond their maritime capability, and often significantly larger than their land territories (at its most extreme, the EEZ of Tuvalu dwarfs its landmass by a ratio of almost 1:28,000). Following requests by several Pacific nations for assistance from the governments of Australia and New Zealand, the Australian government created a Defence Cooperation Project named the Pacific Patrol Boat Program to design and provide suitable patrol boats to nearby island nations. The program also provided training and infrastructure to support these ships. The Program was officially announced by Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke during the South Pacific Forum meeting held in Canberra on 29 and 30 August 1983.