Bangladesh sea boundary examined through UNCLOS III
THE present day Law of the Sea is the outcome of United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea of 1958 (UNCLOS I), UNCLOS II of 1960 and UNCLOS III of 1982. Bangladesh has its Territorial Waters & Maritime Zones Act of 1974. It has ratified the UNCLOS 1982 on 27 July 2001, having time for claims to UN Commission to the Limits of Continental Shelf (UNCLCS) by July 27, 2011. According to the UNCLOS III of 1982 articles 3 and 15, every state has the right to establish the breadth of its territorial sea up to a limit not exceeding 12 nautical miles, measured from baselines determined in accordance with this Convention. The baseline is the line of low tide along the seashore of a state. As per article 17, ships of all states, whether coastal or land-locked, enjoy the right of innocent passage through the territorial sea. Article 33 gives authority of a state on certain other matters to further 12 nautical miles called the Contiguous Zone. Exclusive Economic Zone According to the UNCLOS III of 1982 article 55, the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is an area beyond and adjacent to the territorial sea, subject to the specific legal regime established in this Part, under which the rights and jurisdiction of the coastal State and the rights and freedoms of other States are governed by the relevant provisions of this Convention. As per its article 56, in the EEZ, the coastal state has sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring and exploiting, conserving and managing the natural resources, whether living or non-living, of the waters superjacent to the seabed and of the seabed and its subsoil, and with regard to other activities for the economic exploitation and exploration of the zone, such as the production of energy from the water, currents and winds. The above two articles give the coastal states rights over an area beyond and adjacent to the territorial sea, for economic exploitation. But as per its article 57, this EEZ shall not extend beyond 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured. Continental Shelf The UNCLOS III of 1982 in its article 76 gives rights to the coastal states to go down to some points beyond the EEZ called the continental shelf. As per its sub article 1, the continental shelf of a coastal state comprises the seabed and subsoil of the submarine areas that extend beyond its territorial sea throughout the natural prolongation of its land territory to the outer edge of the continental margin, or to a distance of 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured where the outer edge of the continental margin does not extend up to that distance. As the limits of sea boundary prolongs towards the deep sea, disputes may arise between adjacent states on their boundaries and claims over their natural resources. Bangladesh has three base lines on its seashore: 1) from the Hariabhanga Estuary to the Haringhata Estuary which makes about a 10 degree slanting towards east from the longitudinal lines; 2) from Haringhata Estuary to the Karnafuli River which makes about a 10 degree slanting towards west from the longitudinal lines; and 3) from the Karnafuli River to St. Martins Island which makes about a 70 degree slanting towards west from longitudinal lines. Thus, if the boundary limits are prolonged from these three baselines, three different scenarios of continental shelf shall arise where Bangladesh can claim over other state's continental shelf. So, the sub article 4(a) of the article 76 gives clarifications to resolve the disputes. Article 76 sub-section 4(a): "For the purposes of this Convention, the coastal State shall establish the outer edge of the continental margin wherever the margin extends beyond 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured by either, i) a line delineated in accordance with paragraph 7 by reference to the outer-most fixed points at each of which the thickness of sedimentary rocks is at least 1 per cent of the shortest distance from such point to the foot of the continental slope; or ii) line delineated in accordance with paragraph 7 by reference to fixed points not more than 60 nautical miles from the foot of the continental slope. This article 76 limits of the continental shelf on the seabed, drawn in accordance with paragraph 4 (a) (i) and (ii), not beyond 350 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured or not beyond 100 nautical miles from the 2,500 metre isobath which is a line connecting the depth of 2,500 metres." The Bengal Fan The Bengal Fan is the bed of sedimentary rocks in the sea that starts from the mouth of River Ganga sloping gradually down to 5 degree latitude in Indian Ocean. Sediments from the Indian Territory as well as from Myanmar also contribute to this fan, but their contributions can be easily separated from the isobaths. In the Bengal Fan, a deep trough from south of the Sundarbans, called the Swatch of No Ground, separates sediments of western and eastern branches of the River Ganga arriving through India and Bangladesh. A similar trough from south of the St. Martins Island can separate sediments from Bangladesh and Myanmar rivers. These two lines can be our sea limits as per UNCLOS III of 1982. Bangladesh Sea Boundary Disputes Bangladesh has divided its mainland and territorial waters into several blocks for gas and oil exploration. Recently an invitation for tenders was issued for interested parties for exploration of 8 blocks under the EEZ and 20 blocks under the Continental Shelf. But objections were raised from India and Myanmar over claims on the peripheral blocks. A recent discovery of huge hydrocarbon reserves in the continental shelves of India in Orissa, and Myanmar in Rakhaine states has created the disputes over territorial claims. Bangladesh needs to solve this problem in the light of article 76 clause 4a and article 7 of UNCLOS III. The article 59 of UNCLOS III says that in cases where this Convention does not attribute rights or jurisdiction to the coastal states or to other states within the EEZ and a conflict arises between the interests of the coastal state and any other state or states, the conflict should be resolved on the basis of equity and in the light of all the relevant circumstances, taking into account the respective importance of the interests of the involved parties as well as to the international community as a whole. As per this article, Bangladesh should negotiate not only on the basis of equity, but also in the light of other relevant circumstances, particularly the basis of sedimentary rocks deposited from the mainland. I appreciate the Government's decision to move to the UN for resolving sea boundary disputes with our neighboring states. As Bangladesh, India, and Myanmar are signatories to the UNCLOS III, the matter should be resolved there. I also appreciate the Government's decision to conduct a Seismic Survey of the sea bed to update the available Bathymetric Records. But the government should not delay anymore to update Bangladesh Territorial Waters and Maritime Zones Act 1974 on the basis of UNCLOS III of 1982. The writer is ex-Director General, Water Resources Planning Organization, Ministry of Water Resources. Email: minamul@gmail.com.
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