In a recent petition with the United Nations, Myanmar claimed a certain portion of the Bay of Bengal, which lawfully belongs to Bangladesh.
The Union of Myanmar filed the petition with the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf on July 30, 2015.
But the “grabbing bid” was foiled by the Bangladesh government as the Bangladesh authorities filed a counter petition immediately, protesting the claim of Myanmar.
Maritime area awarded to Bangladesh(L), A snapshot of the portion that Myanmar claims
Seeking anonymity, a high official of Bangladesh foreign ministry told the Dhaka Tribune: “We came to know about the attempt made by the Myanmar government and took immediate action by filing a counter petition that protested Myanmar’s claim.
“We also urged the United Nations to reject Myanmar’s petition as the claim made by the country on continental shelf of the Bay of Bengal is not aligned with the verdicts of the international courts, which resolve boundary disputes among Bangladesh, Myanmar and India.”
Mentioning that Bangladesh filed cases with International Tribunal on Law of the Sea (ITLOS) to resolve maritime boundary dispute with Myanmar and with Arbitral Tribunal to resolve maritime boundary dispute with India, the official said: “Both the courts stipulated how much area Bangladesh, Myanmar and India will get.”
Read more: ‘V’ for victory
“Nobody can claim beyond the award given by the courts,” he said adding, “Myanmar has crossed the line and claim which lawfully belonged to Bangladesh and India.”
Myanmar submitted its first claim on the continental shelf with the UN in 2008 and Bangladesh objected it.
Bangladesh filed a case with an international court in 2009 to resolve the boundary dispute with Myanmar and the verdict was declared in 2012.
Bangladesh also filed a separate case with the Hague-based Arbitral Tribunal in 2009 to resolve maritime boundary dispute with India and got its verdict in 2014.
The judgment was given according to Article 287 of the United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea of 1982 (UNCLOS III), which states that, member states can settle their disputes through any of the following means:
- the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea established in accordance with Annex VI;
- the International Court of Justice;
- an arbitral tribunal constituted in accordance with Annex VII;
- a special arbitral tribunal constituted in accordance with Annex VIII for one or more of the categories of disputes specified therein.
Myanmar again submitted its amended faulty submission on continental shelf this July.
In Section IV (Relevant Maritime Delimitations) of the Executive Summary, Myanmar states: “In accordance with paragraph 2(a) of Annex 1 to the Commission’s Rules of Procedures, Myanmar wishes to inform the Commission that the area of continental shelf that is the subject of this submission is not subject to any dispute between Myanmar and other States. In 2012, the maritime boundary between Myanmar and Bangladesh from land-boundary terminus to the 200 M limits and beyond is already delineated by the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) of which both Bangladesh and Myanmar declared their mutual consent to the jurisdiction of the tribunal.
“At present, the maritime boundaries between Bangladesh and Myanmar as well as Bangladesh and India have already delineated. Therefore, Myanmar has to carry out peaceful negotiation with her neighbouring States for the final delineation of the outer limits of the extended continental shelf in the Bay of Bengal after the recommendation made by the CLCS. Regarding the good faith among neighbours, Myanmar’s Submission has been made without prejudice to the eventual final delimitation.”
In reaction to Myanmar submission, Bangladesh in its petition said: “The Government of Bangladesh observes that the amended continental shelf claim of Myanmar does not reflect the judgment of ITLOS in Case No 16, “Dispute concerning delimitation of the maritime boundary between Bangladesh and Myanmar in the Bay of Bengal.”
“The area claimed by Myanmar in its amended submission overlaps Bangladesh’s continental shelf, including the continental shelf area which was awarded to Bangladesh by the ITLOS and the Arbitral Tribunal. Myanmar’s submission thus inappropriately seeks a recommendation from the Commission concerning areas that the ITLOS judgment and the Arbitrai Tribunal’s award indisputably awarded to Bangladesh,” Bangladesh added.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
