pursuant to article 16, paragraph 2 of the Convention, of a list of geographical coordinates of points concerning the straight baselines for measuring the breadth of the territorial sea of Bangladesh, as contained in the notification S.R.O. No. 328-Law/2015/MOFA/UNCLOS/113/2/15, dated 4 November 2015 Bangladesh-claims-for-straight-baselines-in-measuring-the-breadth-of-the-territorial-sea-1Download Bangladesh-claims-for-straight-baselines-in-measuring-the-breadth-of-the-territorial-sea-2Download Potential Consequences for Bangladesh As already mentioned, according to the UNCLOS-III, the total sea area of Bangladesh is approximately 2, 07,000 square kilometers, 1.4 times greater than its total land area. If Myanmar and India's claims are established, it has been reported that, the claim of Myanmar will likely to grab 29,000 sq. nautical miles of Bangladesh and another 22,000 sq. nautical miles will be seized by Indiax.Such a postulation carries a significant and profound implication for a weak and least-developed statelike Bangladesh: Bangladesh is a resource-deficit country with a small land territory, replete withbourgeoning population, disproportionate to its land resources. The only resource prospectremains for this country is in the Bay of Bengal. But the failure in wining the case andretaining its maritime boundary will jeopradise the destiny of more than 162 millionpeoplexi. The vital fact about the continental shelves and the EEZ is that they are rich in oiland gas resources and most importantly, precious Poly-metallic nodules, which lie on theseabed at 4,000 to 6,000 metres deep and quite often, are host to abundant stock of mineralresources, fish, and renewable energies. Having been choked up from three sides, Bangladesh gets hold only of a bit of strip in theBay of Bengal for the passage to the rest of the world. By harnessing and advancing tradeand investment, definitely, this sea line of communication (SLOC) pays enormouscontribution to its struggling economy. However, the encroachment of its maritime borders will certainly leave it zone-locked and perforce, it will be denied its recognition as a maritime state. The politics in this uncertain world appears with different façades in different historicaljunctures. Today's ally is foe of tomorrow and vice versa. For that reason, the maritimeareas and passages of Bangladesh bear both war and peace-time significance. A zonelocked Bangladesh will likely to be petrified and vulnerable should a crisis erupt. It is not only her economic future but also her sovereignty that are being challenged. Tosurvive as a sovereign state, an assertive mode for the state is crucial. Bangladesh will lose its‘position of strength' in relation to bargaining with regional and global powers and amonginternational community. As predicted by climate scientists, an imminent climate disaster will likely pose humancatastrophe in Bangladesh that will displace millions of people across the country. To adaptto such a situation, the maritime areas of Bangladesh in the Bay of Bengal carry a potentialin terms of deposition of land through the process of sediment gathering somewhere acrossBangladesh coast and in terms of resources available to feed this huge human turnout. What is blue economy in Bangladesh?The blue economy is a term used to describe the sustainable use of marine resources. It covers economic activities such as fishing, aquaculture, and tourism that depend on healthy oceans and…
You must be Register or logged in to view full content, high resolution maps, charts, pdf and more.
