Bangladesh has won a remarkable victory at the International Tribunal for Law of the Seas (ITLOS), securing the entitlement to the resources in the exclusive economic zone.
"We've got all we wanted," foreign minister Dipu Moni told bdnews24.com by phone from Hamburg, where the ITLOS is based.
The foreign minister said Bangladesh got more than it claimed in its dispute with Myanmar.
"Bangladesh claimed 107,000 square kilometres while it got 111,000 square kilometers area in the Bay of Bengal," she said.
"The court has given equitable solution on equi-distance basis," she said.
"The court also gave St Martin's a full effect," she said.
The full effect means Bangladesh has the territorial and economic rights surrounding the island up to 200 nautical miles toward continental shelf in an angle of 215 degrees.
"The ITLOS ruling, by a vote of 21 to 1, brings to a conclusion the case initiated by Bangladesh against Myanmar in December 2009, to resolve a longstanding dispute with regard to the maritime boundary in the oil-and-gas rich Bay," says a statement from the foreign ministry in Dhaka.
"The court sustained Bangladesh's claims to a full 200-mile exclusive economic zone in the Bay of Bengal, and to a substantial share of the outer continental shelf beyond 200 miles.
"President of the Tribunal, Jose Luis Jesus of Cape Verde, read the judgment in the Hamburg courtroom.
"The judgment is final and without appeal.
"All of our strategic objectives have been achieved," the foreign minister said.
"Bangladesh's full access to the high seas out to 200 miles and beyond is now recognised and guaranteed, as are our undisputed rights to the fish in our waters and the natural resources beneath our seabed."
The Tribunal also awarded Bangladesh a full 12-mile territorial sea around St. Martin's Island, rejecting Myanmar's argument that it should be cut in half.
SOURCE