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Demarcation of Maritime Boundary

’Settle disputes, create separate ministry to protect sea territory'

Staff Correspondent
The new government should attach high priority to settling disputes over demarcation of maritime boundary with India and Myanmar to avert any aggression by external forces, said the experts on sea resources and academics yesterday.
They advocated for creating a separate ministry to protect the sea territory of Bangladesh and fully utilise the sea resources saying that the country's maritime territory, which is around two lakh square kilometers, has so far been remained unused for the disputes.
They made the observations at a press conference organised by the National Committee to Protect Bangladesh's Mari time Territories and Resources at the National Press Club in the capital.
"To settle the maritime dispute, the primary task of the government will be to conduct surveys on the sea claimable by Bangladesh as per the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)," said Commodore (retd) Khurshed Alam, member- secretary of the national committee.
He said Bangladesh may lose the control of its own maritime territories if it
fails to make primary claims on the basis of UNCLOS to the UN by 2011
Bangladesh’s Territorial Water & Maritime Zones Act of 1974 was not scientific. he said, adding. "This act should be amended in accordance with the UNCLOS,"
Khurshed said the negotiations with Myanmar and India have not been effective since long and this caused conflicts with the two neighbouring countries.
In 1974, Bangladesh allowed six oil companies to explore gas and oil in the Bay. but India intercepted them Again in 2005. Bangladesh declared 28 blocks in the Bay for oil and gas exploration, but India and Myanmar objected to it.
On the other hand, India and Myanmar have claimed that most of the 28 blocks belong to them and want to establish their claims in various ways.
India has already leased two disputed blocks to international oil companies.
Recently, Myanmar brought their ships in the disputed territory in the Bay creating tension between the two countries.
It is apprehended that Bangladesh will lose a large chunk of maritime territory' and will not be able to claim any continental shelf if the claims made by
Myanmar and India on the delimitation of maritime boundary are accepted.
"Bangladesh should follow equity policy unlike India and Myanmar which are following equidistance policy in the delimitation of maritime boundary," said Khurshed in his keynote presentation.
Prof Anu Muhammad said neither the state nor the think tanks or the media have any comprehensive idea about the country's huge sea resources, resulting in the current situation.
"Delimitation of the maritime boundary is very important for our resources, waterways and after all our sovereignty," he said, adding that sea resources are much more than land resources of Bangladesh.
Prof Serajul Islam Chowdhury said the issue of maritime boundary must be discussed at length in parliament so that all Can become aware of it.
"Huge sea resources should not be allowed to be grabbed by others for our mistakes," he added.
Justice Golam Rabbani, engineer Sheikh Muhammad Shahidullah and Dr Akmal Hossain also spoke at the press conference chaired by engineer M Inamul Hoque.