DHAKA, 18 September 2021, (TON): Bangladesh has registered two protests to the United Nations against the claims of India made on some of the geographical coordinates concerning the straight baselines for measuring the breadth of the territorial sea and setting outer limits of the continental shelf.  

On behalf of the Bangladesh government, the Bangladesh permanent mission to the UN headquarters in New York served two diplomatic notes on September 13 to the United Nations secretary general regarding the claims of India on the matters.

The Bangladesh government took the matter to the  UN after failing to resolve it bilaterally as the dispute arose following Indian claims.

Bangladesh said that India enacted a law in 1976 declaring its territorial waters, continental shelf and exclusive economic zone using ‘the low water line’ to define the limits of those zones.

After 33 years, it amended the law in 2009 unilaterally declaring its territorial sea, contiguous zone, exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf along certain portions of its east coast in the Bay of Bengal by reference to ‘straight baselines.’

The Bangladesh foreign ministry protested against the Indian move, in a letter in October 2009 to the country, and requested the country to correct the mistakes it had made.

The matter has, however, became complicated after India sent a letter to the UN opposing the baseline set by Bangladesh in April 2021. After that, Bangladesh too decided to take the matter to the UN.