Dr. Anu Mahmud :
The judgment delivered by the United Nations Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) on the maritime demarcation between Bangladesh and India has happily been hailed by both countries. Although, the verdict has largely gone in favour of Bangladesh with the PCA upholding its claim of ‘equitable’ instead of ‘equidistance’ solution, this has been dubbed a victory of friendship, a ‘win-win situation for the people(s) of Bangladesh and India’, as Bangladesh foreign minister AH Mahmood Ali aptly put it. Some have justifiably claimed that from right now the country’s map becomes full and complete. The verdict awards Bangladesh an area of 19, 467 sq km out of the total disputed 25,602 sq km. Thus more than one-third of the country’s earlier total territorial area adds up to it allowing Bangladesh to exclusively exercise its sovereign rights on 118,813 sq km of waters extending up to 12 nautical miles of territorial sea and a further exclusive economic zone of 200 nautical miles into the high sea.It surely is a vast area and the commercial and economic interests together with environmental stakes there warrant proper protection and security. Currently wooden boats can venture up to 20 nautical miles and the motorised trawlers up to another 20 nautical miles accounting for a total catch of 6.0 million fish from the Bay annually. Now that the country’s right has been established on the deep sea marine resources up to 200 nautical miles into the high sea, the prospect of catch will be many times more. But Bangladesh is yet to come to term with deep sea fishing. It will have to procure the right types of vessels, nets and equipment. Similarly, the majority of the oil blocks under the seabed have come under the jurisdiction of Bangladesh. All 10 disputed blocks this time have been awarded to Bangladesh. Earlier, under the arbitration of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), the country received 12 out of the 17 blocks which both Myanmar and Bangladesh claimed.Clearly, Bangladesh’s case received patient hearing both at the PCA and the ITLOS. Now Bangladesh will no longer have to get worried over its easy access to the sea. Had both India’s and Myanmar’s arguments got the better of Bangladesh’s, this country would have only a narrow strip to get out to the sea. This latest diplomatic success places Bangladesh in a far advantageous position, so far as territorial waters are concerned. With the expansion of its maritime boundary, the country should now make a comprehensive plan for beefing up its naval power in order to protect its marine resources and fishing vessels over the vast area it has received. Also the country is now better placed to invite reputed foreign companies for exploration of oil and gas in the blocks within its maritime zone. Deficient in natural resources, the country may go through a rapid transition if large oil and gas reserves under its seabed are struck. Such a prospect is quite bright and in that case Bangladesh’s economic transformation for the better too is very much on the cards. The judgment of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at Hague has upheld what we consider to be the legitimate maritime boundary of Bangladesh. Through this verdict, justice has been done to both sides truly marking a triumph of international legal instruments.We thank India that is has taken recourse to arbitration which requires all parties to concur in the process. Delimitation of maritime boundary through arbitration has basically removed the possibility of casting a shadow over bilateral relations on this issue. All the countries can now peacefully exploit maritime resources without fear of overstepping others boundaries. With the tribunal dearly delineating which part of the Bay belongs to which country the stage is now set for Bangladesh lo explore potential hydrocarbon resources that are thought to exist offshore.We congratulate the government of Sheikh Hasina for the deft handling of the case for arbitration and bring it to an auspicious conclusion that has been favourable towards Bangladesh. This is a credible act of the government. The litigation pan of the process was handled by a group of maritime experts hailing from leading Western universities and a capable team of internationally renowned solicitors helped enormously to sway the argument to Bangladesh’s favour. The verdict has rightfully acknowledged our daims, i.e. Bangladesh’s claims to a full 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone in the Bay of Bengal. The tribunal has also awarded to Bangladesh a substantial share of the extended continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles.We applaud the historic verdict on the 40-year maritime boundary dispute in the Bay of Bengal delimitation case. Even though, legally speaking, this was a victory for Bangladesh over India in terms of territorial claims, the judgment delivered by the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague was truly a win for both Bangladesh and India, as well as a win for the rule of international law.This victory-coupled with the judgment two years ago resolving boundary disputes between Bangladesh and Myanmar-is a great leap forward for our country which opens up vast possibilities for tapping into maritime resources. Gaining the rights to exploit potential hydrocarbon resources would give a tremendous boost to our economy.The clear delineation of boundaries will help India as well. Now that these disputes have been put behind us, both our countries can plan more efficiently to pursue their national interests within unambiguous bounds set by the court.It is commendable that both our government and the Indian side took recourse to the rule of law to dispute this matter, |it is, then, a victory of legal instruments and diplomacy. We are glad that India is gracefully honouring its word to accept the verdict of the international court, and we hope that in the future, bilateral relations are strengthened and conflicts are minimised in the same legal and civilised manner in which the maritime dispute has been resolved.(The writer is an economic analyst, columinst, e-mail [email protected])
