DHAKA, 25 September 2021, (TON): Bangladesh has made a formal objection to the UN Secretary-General over certain maritime issues with India that are continuing even after their settlement in 2014.

The issues pertain to the baseline and continental shelf used by India in the 25,602 square kilometres of disputed waters in the Bay of Bengal.

The baseline is the line along the coast from which the seaward limits of a state's territorial sea and certain other maritime zones of jurisdiction are measured, such as a state's exclusive economic zone.

Generally, the state has special rights regarding the exploration and use of marine resources, including energy production from water and wind, within 200 nautical miles (nmi) from the baseline.

This area of the sea is called the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and may include the continental shelf, which is the stretch of the seabed adjacent to the shores of a particular country to which it belongs.

Most commercial exploitation from the sea, such as metallic ore, non-metallic ore and hydrocarbon extraction, takes place on the continental shelf.

And it is over this stretch of the Bay of Bengal that the two neighbours have been sparring over four decades.

India's deployment of the straight baseline along its east coast does not meet the criteria stated in the UNCLO.

Subsequently, on September 13, Bangladesh made a formal objection to the UN Secretary-General over the matter.