Dhaka, Feb 28 (bdnews24.com)—The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea has appointed three arbitrators to settle the maritime disputes between Bangladesh and India, a foreign ministry official said Sunday.
With the appointment of three arbitrators—Rudiger Wolfrum of Germany, Tullio Treves of Italy and Ivan Shearer of Australia—the tribunal gets the required five-member panel, which will finalise the maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal.
Foreign ministry officials hope the tribunal would bring an end to the long-standing disputes between Dhaka and New Delhi over the claim of 10 oil and gas blocks in the Bay of Bengal.
"According to the International Convention on the Law of the Sea, the ITLOS president has nominated three arbitrators," a senior foreign ministry official told bdnews24.com.
"We hope that the tribunal will settle the disputes within three to four years," said the official.
Earlier, Bangladesh appointed British lawyer Vaughan Lowe (QC) while India nominated Srinivasan Rao as its lawyer to the tribunal.
According to the consent of the two countries, ITLOS president nominated the three arbitrators.
In October, Bangladesh declared going to the international tribunal to settle the maritime boundary disputes with India and Myanmar as the three countries failed to resolve the differences through bilateral talks.
Bangladesh, Myanmar and India appear to be inflexible in their respective positions on the issue. Experts say the three countries could not even agree on deciding the starting point for demarcating sea boundary.
Besides, they have differences in methods for maritime boundary delimitation.
Dhaka demands for "equity" method, which, it insists, will ensure win-win conditions for Bangladesh, Myanmar and India.
On the other hand, India and Myanmar press for "equi-distance" principle, which, Dhaka says, will deprive Bangladesh of 17 out of 28 sea blocks. India makes claim on 10 and Myanmar demands 7 sea blocks.
India and Myanmar claim the Bay of Bengal in such a way, which would block Bangladesh's access to sea routes.
In November 2008, Bangladesh and Myanmar was on the verge of getting into an armed conflict over oil and gas exploration in the disputed sea blocks. Tension also rose high in December 2008 as an Indian survey vessel intruded into the disputed waters.
The problems, however, were resolved through diplomatic initiatives.
Recently, Bangladesh and Myanmar achieved progress in bilateral talks and decided to stay away from ITLOS.
bdnews24.com/krc/am/2013h
Source :http://bdnews24.com/details.php?id=154755&cid=2
With the appointment of three arbitrators—Rudiger Wolfrum of Germany, Tullio Treves of Italy and Ivan Shearer of Australia—the tribunal gets the required five-member panel, which will finalise the maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal.
Foreign ministry officials hope the tribunal would bring an end to the long-standing disputes between Dhaka and New Delhi over the claim of 10 oil and gas blocks in the Bay of Bengal.
"According to the International Convention on the Law of the Sea, the ITLOS president has nominated three arbitrators," a senior foreign ministry official told bdnews24.com.
"We hope that the tribunal will settle the disputes within three to four years," said the official.
Earlier, Bangladesh appointed British lawyer Vaughan Lowe (QC) while India nominated Srinivasan Rao as its lawyer to the tribunal.
According to the consent of the two countries, ITLOS president nominated the three arbitrators.
In October, Bangladesh declared going to the international tribunal to settle the maritime boundary disputes with India and Myanmar as the three countries failed to resolve the differences through bilateral talks.
Bangladesh, Myanmar and India appear to be inflexible in their respective positions on the issue. Experts say the three countries could not even agree on deciding the starting point for demarcating sea boundary.
Besides, they have differences in methods for maritime boundary delimitation.
Dhaka demands for "equity" method, which, it insists, will ensure win-win conditions for Bangladesh, Myanmar and India.
On the other hand, India and Myanmar press for "equi-distance" principle, which, Dhaka says, will deprive Bangladesh of 17 out of 28 sea blocks. India makes claim on 10 and Myanmar demands 7 sea blocks.
India and Myanmar claim the Bay of Bengal in such a way, which would block Bangladesh's access to sea routes.
In November 2008, Bangladesh and Myanmar was on the verge of getting into an armed conflict over oil and gas exploration in the disputed sea blocks. Tension also rose high in December 2008 as an Indian survey vessel intruded into the disputed waters.
The problems, however, were resolved through diplomatic initiatives.
Recently, Bangladesh and Myanmar achieved progress in bilateral talks and decided to stay away from ITLOS.
bdnews24.com/krc/am/2013h
Source :http://bdnews24.com/details.php?id=154755&cid=2
Comments
Post a Comment