Dhaka to refer sea limit row to UN tribunal :: Bangladesh :: bdnews24.com ::
Dhaka to refer sea limit row to UN tribunal
Thu, Oct 8th, 2009 4:58 pm BdST
Dhaka, Oct 8 (bdnews24.com)The government has decided to submit the maritime boundary dispute to compulsory arbitration before a UN tribunal as Myanmar and India have "unfairly" cut off Bangladesh's sea blocks, the foreign minister has said.
Briefing journalists at her office on Thursday, Dipu Moni said the government opted for "compulsory arbitration" as the country failed to resolve the disputes with Myanmar and India for 35 years.
She said Bangladesh's maritime boundary would be demarcated in four to five years as per the UN law on sea (UNCLOS).
The demarcation would establish Dhaka's right to extract oil and gas from the Bay of Bengal.
She, however, said Dhaka would continue talks with the two neighbours in addition to arbitration.
The foreign minister disclosed the arbitration decision a day after prime minister Sheikh Hasina told parliament that her government would extract oil and gas from the Bay of Bengal.
The government has already awarded the three offshore blocks to two foreign companies for oil and exploration.
"We will go for compulsory arbitration as per the provisions of UNCLOS to demarcate our maritime boundary with a view to extracting oil and gas from the Bay of Bengal," Moni said.
As per the UN practice, the decision was likely to come by in four to five years since initiating the arbitration process, she said.
"It means that our sea boundary will be demarcated in four to five years if we start the process now.
"If we can reach a consensus through dialogues, the arbitration will be redundant."
"The arbitration decision will expedite sea boundary demarcation talks."
The minister said the government had already appointed Vaughan Loe QC as Bangladesh's legal counsel for the UN tribunal on maritime boundary.
Bangladesh in 1974 passed a legislation demarcating its sea boundary though India and Burma (Myanmar) rejected the move.
Dhaka restarted sea boundary demarcation talks with India and Myanmar in 2007-08 after a pause of more than 20 years. But the officials failed to agree on the issue.
Foreign ministry sources said, out of Bangladesh's 28 offshore blocks, Myanmar and India have made counter claims on 18 blocks.
The government has assured Delhi and Yangon that it would not go for oil and gas exploration in the blocks having overlapping claims by any of the neighbours.
Foreign secretary Mohamed Mijarul Quayes on Thursday morning called Indian high commissioner Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty and Myanmar ambassador U Phae Thann Oo to his office and handed his statement on arbitration.
"The claims of our neighbours have unfairly cut off a significant portion of our maritime area in the Bay of Bengal and prevented us from exploring and exploiting its oil and natural gas resources," said the foreign secretary's statement.
"With a view to preserving our national wealth and sovereign rights in the Bay of Bengal, the government has decided to submit the maritime boundary dispute to compulsory arbitration under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,".
"Our decision to submit this dispute to compulsory arbitration is not intended to detract from our friendly relations.
"However, should these negotiations not succeed, we reserve the option within four to five years of having a final and legally binding resolution that will define our maritime boundary.
"In this way, Bangladesh continues but does not remain dependent on negotiations that have been on going for 35 years without results.
"This will allow us to once and for all settle this dispute with our neighbours, to ensure that our sovereign rights to the natural resources in the sea are fully respected
"And we also wish to conclude by reassuring the citizens of Bangladesh that we will do everything necessary to fully protect our sovereign rights under international law so that in the coming years, we all benefit from the natural wealth that lies beyond our shores in the Bay of Bengal," the secretary said in the statement.
Recently, the government endorsed a proposal on leasing out blocks 5, 10 and 11 to ConocoPhilips and Tullow Oil plc for offshore oil and gas exploration.
ConocoPhillips, the third largest energy company in the US, will get deep-sea blocks 10 and 11.
Shallow-sea block 5 will be awarded to Irish company Tullow that already operates in Bangladesh's Bhangura gas field.
Bangladesh, with about 15 trillion cubic feet (425 billion cubic metres) of proven and recoverable gas reserves, is currently facing around 100 million cubic feet of gas shortages a day.
Prime minister Sheikh Hasina told parliament on Wednesday that her government was determined to extract oil and gas from the Bay of Bengal.
""We want to solve problems with neighbouring countries without any quarrel. Problems can be solved through discussions," she said.
