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Nasaka denies troop buildup
Myanmar’s border security force – Nasaka – on Saturday denied troop mobilisation along its border with Bangladesh, terming such reports as “mere rumour”.
The claim came during a battalion-level flag meeting of Nasaka and Border Guard Bangladesh in Maungdaw township of Myanmar. The meeting was convened to ease tension brewed over the reports of Myanmar’s troop mobilisation.
According to unconfirmed sources, the Myanmar government mobilised troops at different points on the border near Nikkhangchhari, Ukhia and Teknaf upazilas after a UN-backed tribunal last week sustained Bangladesh’s claim to 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic and territorial rights in the Bay of Bengal rejecting the claims of Myanmar.
Alarmed by such reports, BGB officials sent a letter to their counterparts on Thursday for a flag meeting to ease tension, reports our Cox’s Bazar correspondent.
At the meeting, held at the office of Sector-6 of Myanmar’s border force ‘Nasaka’ in Maungdaw, Lt Col Zahid Hasan, commander of BGB Teknaf Battalion-42 who led an eight-member Bangladesh side, sought Myanmar’s explanation on the alleged troop buildup.
“We have information from different sources that Myanmar is mobilising troops at different points along the border, including Tumbro, Bolibazar and Maungdaw,” he told Nasaka officials.
In his reply, U Theng Mi, leader of the 10-member Myanmar side, categorically denied any such troop buildup.
The rumour of troop mobilisation is nothing but rumour, he said, adding: “No situation has arisen which requires deploying troops.”
Lt Col Zahid Hasan quoted the Myanmar official as saying that there is no way for the Nasaka or any force’s opposition to Wednesday’s verdict at International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea since the Myanmar government had accepted it.
“We think a longstanding misunderstanding between the border security forces of the two countries will go once the maritime boundary has been demarcated. This judgement would help us work better,” U Theng Mi said.
The Bangladesh team returned to Teknaf around the noon after the two-hour meeting.
Zahid Hasan said he had opposed when the Myanmar officials alleged that Bangladesh media was spreading the rumour of troop mobilisation by Myanmar.
Visiting several areas including Balukhali and Tumbro border on Thursday, Bashirul Islam, commander of BGB Chittagong Sector, said he did not find any sign of troop mobilisation.
The verdict at International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, located in the German port city of Hamburg, on Wednesday gave Bangladesh a substantial share of the outer continental shelf beyond 200 miles, which would open ways for offshore oil and gas exploration in the Bay.
The tribunal also awarded Bangladesh a full 12-mile territorial sea around St Martin's Island, overruling Myanmar's argument that the island be cut in half and shared.
Myanmar china Bangladesh Future allies ... ......... everything is solved. So far, Myanmar officials claimed the verdict as win-win situation for Both countries.......