The government has presented updated information to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) in support its entitlement beyond 200 nautical miles in the Bay of Bengal from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured.
"The final recommendation of the UN would provide a basis for the exploration, conservation and development of living and non-living natural resources that would help ensure Bangladesh's sustainable development, energy needs and prosperity of the people," Maritime Affairs Unit Secretary Rear Admiral Md Khurshed Alam (retired) said.
As per UN rule, a sub-commission formed for this purpose will examine the data and is expected to make recommendations endorsing Bangladesh's entitlement.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) Maritime Affairs Unit Secretary and CLCS Chair Adnan Rashid Nasser Al-Azri discussed the the government's
amended submission to the CLCS on Friday, Foreign Ministry said.
Under the Convention, a coastal state is supposed to establish the outer limits of its continental shelf where it extends beyond 200 nautical miles based on the recommendation of the Commission.
"Bangladesh lodged the submission to delimit our maritime boundary in proper manner. We hoped to get justice through this arbitration," Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen told this correspondent earlier.
In accordance with the verdict by the Bay of Bengal Maritime Boundary Arbitration, Bangladesh published a gazette in 2015 declaring Haribhanga River as the first baseline point, Putney Island as the second, Dakhin Bhashanchar as the third, Cox's Bazar as the fourth and St Martin's Island as the fifth baseline points. With the new gazette it repealed the notification it submitted to the UN in 1974.
After two years, in 2017, India put forward its objection to Bangladesh gazette and made a submission to the United Nations. In the submission India objected to Bangladesh's base point 2 (Putney Island) and base point 5 (St Martin's Island) and claimed that due to these two points Bangladesh's Exclusive Economic Zone encroached into Indian Exclusive Economic Zone in the 'grey area'.
In 2009 Bangladesh challenged India's claim to the continental shelf while India made two submissions in 2011 and 2017 objecting Bangladesh's claim to the continental shelf, baseline points and encroachment into the 'grey area'. Since that time, the Indian side asked Bangladesh to withdraw the objection of its claims on a part of the 'grey area' spanning 720 square kilometres in the deep sea, India wants to 'settle' the dispute through diplomatic negotiations.
As the delimitation line drawn by the arbitral tribunal has created the so-called grey area' beyond 200 miles off Bangladesh's coast but within 200 miles of the coast of India. The verdict said Bangladesh had sovereign rights to explore the continental shelf. But India is the owner of the waters of those areas.
Now the question arises how local and foreign ships enter and exit the Bangladesh territory and how could it start hydro-carbon explorations in the disputed EEZ (Especial Economic Zone), the official asked.
However, the arbitral tribunal left the issue to the parties to determine practical arrangements for the exercise of their respective rights in the 'grey area', a senior official of the Foreign Ministry said quoting the UN verdict, Foreign Ministry said.
Bangladesh has taken up this legal move to resolve the issue as it failed to reach any solution through bi-lateral dialogues. "India wants to 'settle' the dispute involving Bangladesh's rights on the 'grey area' in the Bay of Bengal through diplomatic negotiations, India urged Dhaka to withdraw its 2009 objection in return for New Delhi's withdrawal of only one of its submissions to the UN (to resolve only continental shelf claim dispute keeping the other two problems unresolved), however, Bangladesh rejected the request.
To address the issue Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina asked Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (in October 2019, during her last visit to India) to withdraw its claim over the water of the grey areas that cuts off Bangladesh's access to the deep sea and creates a dispute over 9,000 square kilometers of Bangladesh territorial waters.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina handed over a map of the Bay of Bengal to the Indian Prime Minister and Indian Foreign Affair Minister at that time and requested them to accept Bangladesh's claims on a part of the 'grey area' spanning 720 square kilometres in the deep sea.
"Following the meeting a technical committee was formed but failed to reach any conclusion. Bangladesh finally lodged a submission in 2019 to ensure its rights over the Bay of Bengal," he said.
Earlier, Bangladesh lodged a Submission to the Commission on 25 February 2011 in accordance with the Article 76, paragraph 8 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982, concerning the limits of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from the baseline from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured.
However, subsequently Bangladesh's maritime boundary was determined up to the limits of the Continental Shelf by the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in the Dispute concerning delimitation of the maritime boundary between Bangladesh and Myanmar in the Bay of Bengal in 2012 and Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in the Matter of the Bay of Bengal Maritime Boundary Arbitration between Bangladesh and India in 2014.
Therefore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has prepared the revised submission with their relentless efforts and finally submitted the amended submission for further proceedings by the CLCS which supersedes in its entirety the Submission deposited on 25 February 2011. This amendment will not affect the position of the Submission in the queue of submissions received by the Commission which is 55 in number.
Bangladesh requires the 'Recommendation' to fulfill the obligation of Article 76 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), 1982, official said.
Based on the binding verdicts of the international tribunals, the Bangladesh government reviewed its submission and lodged a fresh version to the Commission on October 22, 2020.
In the amended submission, delimitation lines prescribed by the international tribunals on settling maritime boundaries with India and Myanmar were used to determine the limits of Bangladesh's continental shelf.
"The original submission for the delineation of Bangladesh's continental shelf was submitted to the CLCS in February, 2011. However, due to unresolved maritime boundary disputes with Myanmar and India, the commission was not able to examine the submission. Based on the binding verdicts of the international tribunals, the government of Bangladesh reviewed its submission and lodged a fresh version to the commission on October 22, 2020, now we are waiting for the verdict," Foreign Ministry official said.
