Bangladesh gets 19,467 square-kilometres in the Bay of Bengal
Bangladesh has won another maritime boundary dispute with India after the last one with Myanmar. The Permanent Court of Arbitration at Hague in Netherlands has awarded Bangladesh 19,467 square-kilometres out of total 25,602 square-kilometres disputed area with India in the Bay of Bengal.
Earlier, the previous victory came on 14 March 2012 when the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in Homburg delivered the judgment in the maritime boundary case with Myanmar.
Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali disclosed the verdict of the case related to the maritime dispute between Bangladesh and India.
He briefed the journalists over the verdict of the case at the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday afternoon.
“According to the verdict, Bangladesh has finally won more than 1,18,813 square kilometers of waters comprising territorial sea, exclusive economic zone extending out to 200 nautical mile (NM) across sizable area,” Ali said.
He mentioned the verdict as a win for both the countries.
“This is a victory of friendship between Bangladesh and India. The Maritime dispute between the two countries has come to an end following the verdict,” said Mahmood Ali.
The minister said the verdict would take the relationship between the two neighbouring counties one step forward.
The court verdict is binding to all parties and there is no option for appeal.
According to the rules of procedures of the case, if any party needs any interpretation of the verdict, it can make a request to the court within 30 days of receiving the verdict and the interpretation would be made available within 45 days.
On Monday, the international tribunal handed the copy of the verdict over to the high commissions of Bangladesh and India in the Hague.
In the case, Bangladesh agent was former foreign minister Dipu Moni while Indian agent was Neeru Chadha, joint secretary and the legal adviser of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs.
Immediately after assuming power in 2009, the Awami League-led government had made a political decision to resolve the maritime dispute with India through an international court as Dhaka and New Delhi could not come to a solution in the past 40 years.
In 2009, Bangladesh also initiated the arbitral process to settle maritime delimitation dispute with Myanmar in the same court. The case was, however, shifted to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (Itlos) upon request from Myanmar.
Following Itlos’ verdict in 2012, Bangladesh got over 110,000 sq-km area including the disputed 25,000 sq-km.
Earlier, Bangladesh won the legal battle with neighbouring Myanmar over the maritime boundary dispute in the Bay of Bengal.
Bangladesh demanded 107,000 square kilometres (sq-km) in the Bay of Bengal, but the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) verdict awarded the country with 111,000 sq-km.
The ITLOS also sustained Bangladesh’s claims to a full 200 nautical miles exclusive economic zone in the Bay of Bengal, and to a substantial share of the outer continental shelf beyond 200 miles.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
I would suggest the concern authority to make sure that we build up our own fully efficient skilled manpower for scientific management of our valuable sea resources on the principle of sustainability.