BANGLADESH MYANMAR
The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) will deliver its judgment on Wednesday on the dispute over delimitation of the maritime boundary between Bangladesh and Myanmar in the Bay of Bengal.
Judge José Luis Jesus is scheduled to read the judgment at 4:30pm (BST).
The ITLOS, a permanent judicial body created by the UN Convention Law of Sea (UNCLOS) and headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, the judgment would decide whether Bangladesh would have to limit its access to 130 nautical mile (NM) sea area or it would have 200 NM economic exploitation zone (EEZ) and continental shelf extends up to 400-460 NM (850km) southwards from the country's coastline.
Dhaka is eagerly waiting for getting justice in the crucial judgment.
“We believe the court will consider our equitable solution method which we stand for. We have heard counter argument from our opponent Myanmar and we are optimistic to get justice from the court,” said Foreign Minister Dipu Moni ahead of her departure for Germany to present during the verdict.
Rear Admiral (retd) Khurshid Alam, additional secretary at the Foreign Ministry, who played the key role in the legal battle, is now also in Hamburg.
Bangladesh lodged objections with the UN on October 8, 2009 after the India and Myanmar "unfairly" cut off a significant portion of Bangladesh's maritime area in the Bay and such "an unlawful way" apparently sandwiched Bangladesh.
Bangladesh's objection to Myanmar's claim was lodged with the UN's ITLOS and its objection to Indian claim was filed with the UN's Permanent Court of Arbitration based in The Hague, Netherlands. The arbitration with India is expected to be settled in 2014.
Bangladesh favours a principle based on "equity" while India and Myanmar favours "equidistance" system to get bigger maritime areas.
Under a UN charter, the principle of "equity" takes into account a country's population, economic status and needs, GDP growth, and other human issues, while the "equidistance" system marks the boundary through geometric calculations.
According to UNCLOS, any such dispute should be resolved on the basis of equity, and in the light of relevant circumstances. And that makes Bangladesh's demand for equity-based demarcation justified.
Judge José Luis Jesus is scheduled to read the judgment at 4:30pm (BST).
The ITLOS, a permanent judicial body created by the UN Convention Law of Sea (UNCLOS) and headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, the judgment would decide whether Bangladesh would have to limit its access to 130 nautical mile (NM) sea area or it would have 200 NM economic exploitation zone (EEZ) and continental shelf extends up to 400-460 NM (850km) southwards from the country's coastline.
Dhaka is eagerly waiting for getting justice in the crucial judgment.
“We believe the court will consider our equitable solution method which we stand for. We have heard counter argument from our opponent Myanmar and we are optimistic to get justice from the court,” said Foreign Minister Dipu Moni ahead of her departure for Germany to present during the verdict.
Rear Admiral (retd) Khurshid Alam, additional secretary at the Foreign Ministry, who played the key role in the legal battle, is now also in Hamburg.
Bangladesh lodged objections with the UN on October 8, 2009 after the India and Myanmar "unfairly" cut off a significant portion of Bangladesh's maritime area in the Bay and such "an unlawful way" apparently sandwiched Bangladesh.
Bangladesh's objection to Myanmar's claim was lodged with the UN's ITLOS and its objection to Indian claim was filed with the UN's Permanent Court of Arbitration based in The Hague, Netherlands. The arbitration with India is expected to be settled in 2014.
Bangladesh favours a principle based on "equity" while India and Myanmar favours "equidistance" system to get bigger maritime areas.
Under a UN charter, the principle of "equity" takes into account a country's population, economic status and needs, GDP growth, and other human issues, while the "equidistance" system marks the boundary through geometric calculations.
According to UNCLOS, any such dispute should be resolved on the basis of equity, and in the light of relevant circumstances. And that makes Bangladesh's demand for equity-based demarcation justified.
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