December 16 is the most memorable day for all Bangladeshis as
Bangladesh came into existence as a sovereign nation on that day in
1971. To me, another blissful day is March 14, 2012, when we won in a
historic verdict given by the UN International Tribunal for Law of the
Seas (ITLOS). This verdict has established Bangladesh's territorial,
political and economic rights to the immense resources of the Bay of
Bengal. As the proverb goes: "It is better late than never."

Bangladesh
and Myanmar had held prolonged negotiations over the dispute since
1974, but failed to reach a solution. Finally, the two countries, by
mutual consent, invited ITLOS in 2009 to exercise its jurisdiction over
the maritime boundary dispute. ITLOS delivered its judgment on March 14,
demarcating the maritime boundary between two countries based on the
equitable share in the coastline of the two countries.

It is a
victory for both states because the problem was resolved amicably and
according to international law. The verdict is indeed the result of our
relentless and determined efforts to protect our national interests and
national power to ensure our legitimate share of the resources in the
Bay of Bengal.

However, if we look into some facts and figures of
the litigation and the historic verdict we can see that the main focus
of the dispute was on maritime boundary between two countries centered
on Bangladesh's views to demarcate on equity basis North to South while
Myanmar wanted equidistance system along East to West boundary. The
maritime boundary Myanmar had claimed cut directly across the Bangladesh
coastline, severely truncating Bangladesh's maritime jurisdiction to a
narrow wedge of sea not extending beyond 130 miles. It also claimed that
the tribunal lacked jurisdiction to award continental shelf rights
beyond 200 miles (111,000 square kilometres) from either State's coast.

The
court also identified the coral island St. Martin as the landmark to
demarcate the territorial and economic rights surrounding the island up
to 200 nautical miles toward continental shelf at an angle of 215
degrees. So, Bangladesh's full access to the high seas out to 200
nautical miles and beyond was recognised and our unquestioned rights to
the fish in our waters and the natural resources beneath our seabed were
ensured.

There are two ways of resolving international conflicts
and disputes: one is negotiating settlement of disputes while the other
is judicial or legal means of resolving bilateral and multilateral
conflicts. Bangladesh, after failing to ensure its legitimate rights in
the Bay of Bengal through negotiations, went for judicial settlement of
the dispute confidently and with full preparation and proper ground
work. The question is, since negotiation has not worked in different
cases with India, why should we not take the same legal path to ensure
our rights which we have been deprived of for a long time?

Bangladesh
and India have a common cultural, economic and political history.
Especially, the role played by India during the independence war of
Bangladesh in 1971 is unforgettable. Being a small and weak state (in
terms of both military and economy) Bangladesh should have excellent
negotiating capability to resolve disputed issues with the neighbouring
countries and to ensure its legitimate rights. Now the window has opened
to resolve the same dispute with India as the ITLOS president has also
formed an arbitral tribunal regarding the maritime boundary dispute
between Bangladesh and India.

The newly-appointed Indian High
Commissioner to Bangladesh, Pankaj Saran, said on March 17 that India
wanted to resolve the maritime boundary dispute with Bangladesh
bilaterally (Daily Star, March 18). So, what Bangladesh needs to
do is be persistent and confident, and make sure that India does not
procrastinate to protract the issue in the name of negotiation or of
bilateral discussion.

At the end, I must emphasise that we should
increase wide-range maritime patrol preparedness to detect violation of
our boundary. The navy also needs land-based wide range surveillance
radar to keep watch on the vast sea resource. It is also important to
chase off invaders and fishing trawlers from Bangladesh territory. It is
good news that Bangladesh Navy is going to procure a patrol aircraft
from Germany and a team is currently there to negotiate a deal.

The writer is Senior Lecturer of Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Dhaka.