Settling a long-standing maritime boundary dispute between India and Bangladesh, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) at Hague has awarded Bangladesh 19,467 square kilometres out of disputed 25,602 square kilometres in the Bay of Bengal.
India on Tuesday said it is studying full implications of verdict given by the Arbitration Tribunal for Delimitation of Maritime Boundary between Bangladesh and India.
“We respect the verdict of the Tribunal and are in the process of studying the award and its full implications. We believe that the settlement of the maritime boundary will further enhance mutual understanding and goodwill between India and Bangladesh by bringing to closure a long pending issue. This paves the way for the economic development of this part of the Bay of Bengal, which will be beneficial to both countries,” said Syed Akbaruddin, Spokesperson for Ministry of External Affairs.
In Dhakha, Bangladesh termed the verdict a ‘win’ situation for both parties as it resolved a long-standing conflict.
“By finally resolving a problem that had been an issue in the side of bilateral relations for so long and by doing so peacefully and according to international law, the Award enables both sides to move forward confidently into a new future and to build a new era of understanding and cooperation in the maritime sector,” Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali said in Dhaka.
Ali said the verdict would take the relationship between the two neighbouring counties a step forward. The PCA verdict is binding to the parties and there is no scope for appeal.
This is the second victory for Bangladesh with regard to a maritime boundary dispute. The last dispute was with Myanmar where Bangladesh got over 1,10,000 sq-km area including the disputed 25,000 sq-km in Bay of Bengal.
On 8 October 2009, Bangladesh instituted arbitral proceedings concerning the delimitation of the maritime boundary between Bangladesh and India pursuant to Article 287 and Annex VII, Article 1 of the United Nations Convention on the law of the Sea. The Parties subsequently exchanged written pleadings over the course of 2010-13.