Should we think differently about St Martin’s Island?

Hasnat Abdul Hye | Published: June 25, 2024 20:00:29 | Updated: June 25, 2024 21:48:47

My visit to St. Martin’s Island in 1976 as the Deputy Commissioner was reportedly the first ever by a senior government officer in the memory of the islanders. Not having even the status of a ward of an union porishad, the island was the very epitome of being an administrative and political backwater. With a population of little over 1800 in 1976, St. Martin did not qualify to have the status of a local government unit and therefore was beyond the pale of the administrative network. The only presence of the government was a platoon of erstwhile BDR which had no physical infrastructure of their own and per force availed of the space available adjacent to the only mosque in the island. Their duty was ostensibly the prevention of smuggling in the Bay of Bengal, a goal belied by their number, housing and transport facilities. With no economic and strategic importance, St Martin suffered the benign neglect of successive governments in stoic resignation
Fast forward to the start of the third millennium. St Martin with a population of over seven thousand became a tourist attraction. After about a quarter century, St Martin is now a tourist hotspot. For holiday makers it became a favourite go-to place by the turn of the century, what with its wind-swept landscape dotted with tall coconut trees and corals under water. Besides, there was the thrill of travelling in the blue water of sea that became high waves, tossing and turning boats. The island also attracted visitors who, shunning the sybaritic pleasures, went for exploration of the mystery in sands and under water flora and fauna. Before long, the island was dotted with hotels and rest houses of all shapes and sizes. It also attracted those who were keen to cash in on its new found popularity as a holiday destination and bought land to set up resorts.
St Martin assumed a new status of importance with the competing claims of Bangladesh and Myanmar over territorial limits in the Bay of Bengal. The potentials of finding oil and gas in the Bay made ownership and sovereignty over the Bay of great importance. The UN court that adjudicated the dispute over the maritime boundary took St Martin as the base for delimiting the maritime border between the two countries. According to observers, Bangladesh got more than 128,600 nautical miles of the Bay because of its ownership of St Martin. It may be the tipping point that made Myanmar look at St Martin with a jaundiced eye. In 2018 the ministry of population of Myanmar put up a map in their website showing St Martin within their territorial limits. After protest by Bangladesh foreign ministry the map was removed. But there are enough indications that Myanmar has not given up its designs to sway over as much of the Bay as would satisfy its policy of aggrandisement. Its naval ships were seen last year within the territorial waters of Bangladesh near St Martin. This encroachment was stopped only after formal protest was made. Myanmar was clearly and literally testing waters to see if the government of Bangladesh would react strongly. Then there was the incident of oil and gas exploration by a South Korean company Daewoo near St Martin which saw the two countries at eye-to-eye confrontation because of the trespass by Myanmar.
Very lately, in the first week of June, Bangladeshi boats and ships carrying passengers from Teknaf to St Martin were fired at by Myanmar armed forces, bringing transport between the mainland and the island to a standstill. Soon after this three ships of Myanmar navy were seen off the coast of St Martin scaring the residents of the island. For over nine days the islanders' supply of food and medicine remained suspended because of indiscriminate firing by Myanmar forces, ostensibly targeting Arakan rebels. Myanmar drove home the point that it can hold the islanders as hostage at its sweet will. Supply through alternative route, skirting around the normal route between Teknaf and St Martin, has now eased the supply of essential items. Patrolling by ships of Bangladesh navy and coast guard has restored calm and normalcy .But similar crisis-like situation may arise again as long as Myanmar persists its belligerent policy. In its policy of harassment and aggrandisement St Martin will always be a target.
It is not only Myanmar that has got St Martin in the cross-hair. Rumours are rife that a big power wants to take lease of the island to make it a military base. As the confrontation between China and the western powers has become more intense, the need to have a foothold in the Bay of Bengal has become urgent. The attempt to gain control over the island may have been staved off for now. But like the Myanmar tentacle, the pressure from the big power may be seen again, in a different form. So, Bangladesh has to resolve the St Martin issue in a decisive manner to put an end to the occasional pinpricks from Myanmar and arm twisting by any big power.
One solution lies in turning the entire island into a defence garrison with the presence of army, navy, air force and coast guard. To be secure, all facilities should be built underground. In keeping with modern warfare, instead of heavy equipments and armament reliance should be on drones for surveillance and for retaliation or pre-emptive attacks. For this transformation of the island, the present population of 8.400 may be resettled in the mainland giving them adequate compensation. Tourists may be allowed day trip, from morning to evening, in selected parts of the island, under supervision of the garrison authority.
Converting St Martin into a defence garrison will be costly because of construction and re-settlement. It is not something that should be high on the agenda of development of the government. But given the pressure that is being brought to bear by a big power and hostile policy of Myanmar, Bangladesh may have to bite bullet. Militarisation of St Martin now appears as one of the possible solutions to the problem that the island has created simply being where it is.
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