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Maritime boundary dispute : Dhaka may not accept Delhi's offer for talks

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Maritime boundary dispute
Dhaka may not accept Delhi's offer for talks


Dhaka may not accept Delhi's offer for talks

Nizam Ahmed

Bangladesh is unlikely to go for bilateral talks with India for settlement of its maritime boundary dispute.

"We will rather wait for a decision from the Hague-based Permanent Court on Arbitration. The court is scheduled to give its decision in this regard within the next two years," a senior official of the foreign ministry told the FE.


India has sought to start bilateral talks with Bangladesh after the latter had own a similar boundary dispute with Myanmar on Wednesday at the International Tribunal for Law of the Sea (ITLOS), in Hamburg, Germany.

"The offer for settlement of maritime dispute through talks was made officially on Saturday when Pankaj Saran, the High Commissioner of India, called on Foreign Minister Dipu Moni on a special assignment," the official said.

Saturday is generally a weekend in the country. Moreover, this Saturday was an official holiday on the occasion of the 92nd birth anniversary of the country's independence leader Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

It is believed that the foreign minister and senior officials rushed to the foreign office despite holiday to host the Indian envoy. This evoked much interest among the political observers.

Officials said India had earlier preferred the Hague-based Permanent Court on Arbitration when Bangladesh opted for settlement of its maritime boundary disputes with India and Myanmar through the ITLOS in 2009.

"We have waited decades for the settlement of the issue. Now it will not be much difficult for us to wait two more years to get the decision from the permanent court on arbitration," another senior official of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) told the FE.

Both the officials requested anonymity as the issue is likely to spark a new diplomatic row between the two countries.

Settlement of the issue through bilateral negotiations may take more time, a former senior diplomat of the country said.

So, dependence on the international arbitration will be the most useful solution for Bangladesh, he added.

A section of former diplomats also smelt a rat in the Indian offer of talks on the issue. India has already encroached Bangladesh's territorial waters and never allowed Bangladeshi fishermen to fish in high seas.

India also opposed to Bangladesh's intentions to go for hydro-carbon exploration in the deep sea in the recent past.

Bangladesh leaders and officials must handle this issue cautiously, because the permanent court on arbitration has a provision to allow the parties to settle any dispute bilaterally, said the former diplomats.

In case the court on arbitration allows both the countries for a bilateral solution then Bangladesh may be dragged into a lengthy process of diplomatic negotiations which might prevent from asserting its rights on the maritime territory off India's eastern coast, they said.

Meanwhile Bangladesh's confidence on international entities, has been emboldened following the ILTOS verdict on the maritime dispute with Myanmar,

ITLOS awarded 111,000 sq km in the sea to Bangladesh which had claimed 107,000 sq km as its sovereign maritime boundary.

"Our initial claim itself showed that we lack in necessary technical know-how on the subject which we have been dealing with. We do not even know how much area we can claim legally in the sea," an analyst on energy affairs told the FE.

Political observers said the part experience of Bangladesh in bilateral talks with India was not encouraging. There were few subjects in which both sides could get a solution through dialogue unless intervened by the highest level of the two governments.

Reaching an agreement on sharing of the Gages waters was possible only following the intervention and willingness of the then two prime ministers in 1997.
 
Lets not have multiple threads on same subject. Would you guys request mod to close one? I really dont care if one I opened is closed.
 
The best way is through diplomatic channels, and it will be fast also...
And if bangladesh is not in hurrry than we can also wait for 5-10 years for the decision from internation court...
 
India also opposed to Bangladesh's intentions to go for hydro-carbon exploration in the deep sea in the recent past.

When did that happen ???
I havn't heard of such news recently, or may be i was on fb on that full day..
Any credible source ???, even bangladeshi source will do...
 
The best way is through diplomatic channels, and it will be fast also...
And if bangladesh is not in hurrry than we can also wait for 5-10 years for the decision from internation court...

Contrary to what you are saying, UN arbitration shall wrap it up within 2014,
whereas bilateral talks might just keep on poking for several decades as with
every other pending cases with India.

So it's better if deplomats in our country does not fall into this bilateral thing.
 
Notice how much panic india has got, they rushed to foreign ministry in day of holiday. And more interestingly Awami foreign minister breaking protocol rushed to foreign ministry to hear instruction form indian master.

Can any one trust Awami subservient when it comes to dealing with india? Hell NO.
 
This is why we feel like this when we beat India in cricket -


430708_355510294488292_100000879747829_1031144_1768045522_n.jpg
 
congrats bhai,
now we know what pain u have to go thru all the time.

Our pain is infinity, so it doesn't matter. Its india that is feeling the pain and heat.
Anyway don't try to start pointless debate. You people are good at this.
Grow up.
 
The best way is through diplomatic channels, and it will be fast also...
And if bangladesh is not in hurrry than we can also wait for 5-10 years for the decision from internation court...

Why the best way is through diplomatic channels? And how it will be fast??

It has been 40 years and the issue is unsettled via diplomatic channels (india is good at that).
 
Dipu Moni on maritime boundary dispute with India
Arbitration, bilateral talks may go simultaneously


Arbitration, bilateral talks may go simultaneously
Dr Dipu Moni
FE Report

Arbitration in international court and bilateral discussion might go on simultaneously to settle Bangladesh's maritime boundary dispute with India, foreign minister Dr Dipu Moni said on Monday.

Bangladesh moved to international court to resolve the dispute with India after bilateral discussion between the countries had failed, Dipu said, adding the incumbent government was not against any discussion.


"No scope of bilateral discussion with India over maritime boundary remains after withdrawing the arbitration. The discussion may take place during the arbitration process," Dipu told reporters at a press briefing, held in the conference room of Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

She said Indian High commissioner in Dhaka at a recent meeting with her did not propose bilateral discussion to settle the maritime issue.

Bangladesh and India approached the Hague-based Permanent Court on Arbitration in 2009 to settle the maritime dispute between the two countries. The Court is expected to give its verdict in 2014.

India often encroaches upon Bangladesh's territorial waters and never allowed Bangladeshi fishermen to fish in high seas.

India also opposed Bangladesh's move to go for hydro-carbon exploration in the deep sea in the recent past.

On winning a legal battle with neighbouring Myanmar over the maritime boundary dispute in the Bay of Bengal, the foreign minister said the verdict brought victory for both Bangladesh and Myanmar.

"We have achieved everything we had sought to establish our maritime right in the Bay over Myanmar," Dipu told reporters.

Bangladesh on March 14 last won the legal battle with neighbouring Myanmar over the maritime boundary dispute in the Bay of Bengal, as an international tribunal verdict went in favour of the country.

With the verdict of the tribunal, Bangladesh's claims to a full 200 nautical miles exclusive economic zone in the Bay of Bengal and a substantial share of the outer continental shelf beyond 200 miles has been established.

Judge José Luis Jesus, of Cape Verde, read out the judgment at main courtroom of the tribunal in Hamburg, Germany.

The judgment is final and there cannot be any appeal against it, a statement of Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Bangladesh demanded 107,000 square kilometres in the Bay of Bengal, but the International Tribunal for Law of the Sea (ITLOS) verdict awarded the country with 111,000 sq-km, the foreign minister said.

When asked, Dipu Moni said she came to know about the funding the Bangladesh Nationalist Party by Pakistani intelligence agency from newspaper reports.

But she said her ministry would seek transcript of the testimony given by the former chief of ISI alleging that the Pakistani spy agency had funded BNP during 1991 general elections.

Arbitration, bilateral talks may go simultaneously
 

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