No need for talks with Myanmar Says Rear Admiral Khurshed

Unb, Dhaka, Saturday, March 17, 2012 ... 


Bangladesh no longer requires any negotiation with Myanmar to draw the country's maritime boundary after the verdict of the International Tribunal for Law of the Sea (ITLOS).

“There is no legal requirement to sit with Myanmar… we'll draw our boundary according to the chart given by the ITLOS,” Additional Secretary (UNCLOS) at the Foreign Ministry Rear Admiral (retd) Khurshed Alam told the news agency yesterday evening.

He said there is no convention of setting pillar in the sea to demarcate the maritime boundary.

The ITLOS verdict given on Wednesday sustained Bangladesh's claims to a full 200-nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the Bay of Bengal, and to a substantial share of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) beyond 200 nautical miles.

Khurshed said after the verdict no foreign country can come for fishing within the 200 nautical miles in Bangladesh territorial waters. “What's important is that we'll have to increase the strength of our navy to intensify the guard within our maritime boundary.”
He said the ITLOS verdict has bestowed Bangladesh with the undisputed right to fishes in the waters and natural resources beneath the seabed.

The Tribunal also awarded Bangladesh a full 12-nautical mile territorial sea around St Martin's Island, overruling Myanmar's argument that it should be cut into half.

http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=226654