DHAKA: Bangladesh submitted its written pleadings to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) in the dispute over maritime boundary of the Bay of Bengal with Myanmar on Thursday, the last day of the timeline set by the tribunal.

Additional secretary (UNCLOS) of Foreign Ministry Rear Admiral (Retd) Khurshed Alam told Banglanews24.com.bd, “We submitted all the documents in ITLOS Thursday to get the full and satisfactory delimitation of Bangladesh maritime boundary with Myanmar in the sea territory, the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and the continental shelf.”

“We want settlement of the dispute over maritime boundary with Myanmar in the Bay of Bengal on the basis of equity,” he said.

On the other hand, Myanmar claimed a maritime boundary with Bangladesh based on equidistance line. Bangladesh rejected Myanmar’s proposed line of delimitation as inequitable because the line, in combination with Bangladesh’s concave coastline at the northern end of the Bay of Bengal, severely cut off and reduced Bangladesh’s maritime entitlement.

Bangladesh proposed a much equitable line of delimitation in the EEZ and continental shelf, Foreign Ministry sources said.

The settlement of the dispute over maritime boundary with Myanmar and India is highly important because Bangladesh cannot explore and exploit offshore areas for oil and gas, most needed to boost country’s economy, due to overlapping claims of the two neighbours, said relevant officials of the ministry.

Bangladesh has been negotiating for over the last 35 years to settle the dispute with India and Myanmar. As all parties failed to settle it in bilaterally, Bangladesh lodged objection on October 8, 2009 with the ITLOS, based in Germany, an independent judicial body established by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), to delimitate the maritime boundaries among Bangladesh, India and Myanmar in the Bay of Bengal.

Earlier on January 28, 2010, ITLOS set the timeframe for submission of memorial (written pleadings). According to the schedule Myanmar also submitted their counter-memorial by 1 December 2010.

If any reply and rejoinder are necessary, Bangladesh and Myanmar would submit those by 15 March 2011 and 1 July 2011 respectively.

Khurshed Alam said, after July 2011, the hearings on the issue would take place to get final judgment.

A panel comprising local and foreign experts has prepared the statements of the claim to go for legal battle in establishing its legitimate rights over maritime boundary.

Another timeframe has been set by ITLOS to submit memorial on dispute between Bangladesh and India. As per schedule, Bangladesh has to submit the memorial to the Arbitral Tribunal by May 31, 2011.

BDST 1920 HRS, July 1, 2010.