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 Bangladesh is ready to submit its maritime boundary claims to the United Nations well ahead of the July 2011 deadline, foreign secretary Mijarul Quayes said on Saturday.
"Bangladesh ratified UNCLOS (UN Convention on the Law of the Sea) in 2001, although India and Myanmar had done so earlier and have consequently submitted their sea border claims already," Quayes told reporters at a regular ministry briefing at the Secretariat.
Quayes said to meet the terms of the convention, a report must be submitted to the UN Commission on Limits of the Continental Shelf within 10 years of ratification.
He said all necessary preparations, including survey work in the Bay of Bengal, was ongoing for submission by the deadline.
The foreign secretary also mentioned that Bangladesh had lodged diplomatic protests with the UN against the claims submitted by India and Myanmar in the Bay.
"However, the issues will remain unresolved until Bangladesh submits its claim and a decision is made after considering positions of all sides," he said
Asked if Bangladesh has become isolated on the issue of maritime boundaries boundary issues, Quayes said all countries had to defend their own positions, but "Bangladesh is not without friends".
Pressed further, he said, "It's you who point out that China has good ties with Myanmar, but we too have good ties with China."
Myanmar and India, both with 2009 deadlines, have already submitted their maritime boundary maps to the UN without resolving long-standing disputes with Bangladesh, which prevent crucial oil-gas exploration in the Bay for all three countries.
Dhaka resumed negotiations on the issue with both countries last year after a hiatus of almost three decades, but the talks were less than fruitful with each side sticking to its position.
However, according to UNCLOS, claims submitted by any country cannot be taken for final consideration before settling the objection raised by a neighbouring country that might have overlapping claims.
India and Myanmar are making sea border claims in such ways that entry of vessels to Bangladesh's Chittagong and Mongla ports would be blocked and exploration in the Bay permanently hampered.
India, in particular, has claimed a baseline for its sea boundary in such a way that would make Bangladesh into a completely sea locked nation.
Dhaka objected during border talks in Delhi in March this year, but India submitted its map to the UN in May making no effective change in its claims, say Bangladesh foreign ministry officials.
Foreign Minister Dipu Moni in July this year termed India's claim baseline for delineating its sea border with Bangladesh "aggressive" and urged New Delhi to change it. She said the two countries must resolve the issue as they were both in need of resources at sea
Source: bdnews24.com
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