Suicidal for Bangladesh to allow the grabbing of its sea territories

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Enayet Rasul
It is not a name that has been created by Bangladesh such as the name Myanmar is a new one compared to the age-old name of Burma that identified this country. The name Bay of Bengal has been used to describe the sea directly fronting Bangladesh for centuries. Thus, the name itself signifies that it is a sort of appendage of the land mass known as Bengal or Bangladesh. It was to be, thus, never made a bone of contention about whose claim to sovereignty would be paramount in these waters. Bangladesh's pre-eminent claim to the Bay of Bengal -- over its expanses and resources --was too obvious and too apparent to be ignored.
But this straightforward and natural recognition of rights of ours over the adjacent sea has been made controversial by the very incompetent and very uncaring attitude of successive governments in Bangladesh. Thus, it is indeed a matter of great dissatisfaction to the people of Bangladesh. If setbacks are met by the nation from aggressive postures and actions of other countries despite its doing the best to discourage or dispel such intrusions, then the same could be consoling. But the facts are that it was Bangladesh's own dismal lack of awareness or doing the stitch in time that led to a state when a big part of the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the Bay of Bengal claimed by Bangladesh became contested areas with Myanmar and India claiming the same as part of their EEZs.
India and Myanmar now claim 19,000 square kilometer and 18,000 square kilometer respectively inside Bangladesh's EEZ. The two countries have not only restricted their activities to making claims on our EEZ. They have in different ways sought to consolidate their claims with activities designed to assert their ownership. They have conducted search for gas and petroleum in these areas when Bangladesh's role was limited to mumbling some half-hearted protests and nothing else. Both countries discovered significant hydrocarbon reserves in the Bay of Bengal and in the case of Myanmar on areas very close to Bangladesh.
They invited international oil companies (IOCs) for such exploration activities and carved up the Bay of Bengal into blocks for awarding these to foreign companies ----unilaterally-- without consulting Bangladesh or demarcating first their sea boundaries with it. From such proactive and one-sided exploration and related activities, these countries made a head start in asserting their rights over parts of the Bay of Bengal that do not belong to them . They have been also successful in varying degrees in establishing some kinds of de facto rights over these areas from their presence and actual physical activities.
This is particularly true in relation to India. India has made claims in at least eight blocks that overlap into areas claimed by Bangladesh. Not only the claims, India also awarded these disputed areas to foreign companies which also partly explored them without meeting any resistance from Bangladesh. Thus, these areas are coming under a de facto occupation by India and that country is building up its rights over them as a de facto occupier.
Only recently, this trend was resisted by Bangladesh but only in relation to Myanmar that led to the pushing back of an attempt by Myanmar to operate a rig in an area close to Bangladesh's territorial waters. But the issue remains inconclusive with Myanmar backing off for now under strong diplomatic pressure. But it has not dropped its claim and vowed to reappear there in the future.
The present concern and activism by Bangladesh, if started much earlier, could have yielded a more secure position for the country by now or at least played a part in holding back illegal advances. When Bangladesh made its first attempt to lease out blocks in the sea to foreign oil companies way back in 1974 during the time of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the move was protested by India. Bangladesh later withdrew from the process of leasing out these blocks and the Indian objection certainly had a lot to do with this back pedaling . But when India started vigorously its own programme of leasing out blocks in the deep sea to IOCs for energy exploration, notwithstanding that some of them overlapped into areas claimed by Bangladesh, Bangladesh did nothing about it. No formal protest about the matter was made to India nor to the foreign companies. In this situation of a mum attitude from Bangladesh, the Indians could consolidate their exploration activities in areas claimed by Bangladesh.
Similarly, no formal protest was made by Bangladesh authorities either to Myanmar or to foreign companies when the government of the former, leased out blocks in the sea to foreign companies. Only after the discovery of the actual start up of work by a Korean company early in this month in an area claimed by Bangladesh, that our government started showing due concern. But why so late in the day ? Could not the foreign ministry and the government in Bangladesh formally protest and warn foreign companies right at the outset when Myanmar invited bids from them ?
When such has been the easy going approach of Bangladesh, its neighbours have been very alert about these aspects. Bangladesh invited bids from IOCs for leasing out its blocks in the sea some months ago. But this move on the part of the Bangladesh government was immediately and formally protested by the governments of India and Myanmar. Even the IOCs were warned by the governments of these two countries that they should not participate in the bidding process in Bangladesh as they would be exposed to risks in exploration activities in disputed areas. No wonder, therefore, the response to the bidding for Bangladesh was very poor and the government in frustration had to call it off.
Thus, the governments of India and Myanmar, have won a long lead over Bangladesh in grabbing sea territories which are claimed by Bangladesh. They have successfully contracted foreign companies to explore and produce energy in these area whereas Bangladesh could not even start a similar bidding process for exploring its EEZ for energy in the face of opposition from these countries. This is a great setback as Bangladesh is running out of gas. If it could get the IOCs engaged in off-shore exploration for gas some years ago, then the same could produce results. Probably a number of off-shore gas fields like the Sangu field could have been discovered by now that would dissipate the present crisis situation in respect of energy supply.
Bangladesh has about two and a half years only to conduct all types of mapping and surveys in support of its claim in the Bay of Bengal for submission to the UN. India and Myanmar completed such activities long ago. But Bangladesh has hardly started them . Therefore, the clock is taking away and making the country's position rather insecure in backing up its claim with appropriate data. In the absence of agreed sea boundaries with its neighbours, Bangladesh's only hope of establishing its rights properly in its adjacent sea depends on completing these tasks of surveys and mapping with utmost efficiency. Doing of these things also take a long time. Bangladesh is already starting late and given the usual slothful ways of doing things by its governments, all concerned in the country need not be misunderstood for worrying about whether these tasks would be really completed with the required efficiency in time for submission to the UN body that also arbitrates in such issues between member countries. If Bangladesh fails to submit its claims on the sea with real thoroughness and professionalism , then it will also have a weak case if its disputes with Myanmar and India move to the UN for arbitration.
Thus, it is very high time for all governments in Bangladesh from now on to be extremely wary and hyperactive to do everything to establish this country's rightful claims on its adjoining sea. A great deal of precious time have been lost. Any further waste of time will be suicidal for Bangladesh as its burgeoning population will have to depend on the sea's various resources for survival early in the present century.