ENGLISH DEYEA NEWS

by Mizzima | New Delhi: Burma has refused to stop exploration of gas from the disputed waters in the Bay of Bengal after a four-day standoff with neighbouring Bangladesh over disputed waters, the state-owned Television said on Thursday.

Burma said Bangladesh had made a 'mistaken and unlawfully' demand to stop drilling of oil from the AD-7 block in the Bay of Bengal, claiming that the test drilling site was in its territorial waters.

"So Myanmar [Burma] rejected the mistakenly-made demand of Bangladesh," Burma's military junta said in the statement published by its mouthpiece New Light of Myanmar newspaper on Friday.

"Moreover, in order to protect the interests of the country in line with international laws, Myanmar [Burma] will continue to do the work in Block No. AD-7 till its completion, it is learnt," the statement added.

The Burmese military junta in the statement said, it had given the right to carry out exploration work in the offshore block AD-7 to Daewoo International Corporation in 2005. Daewoo in 2007 began exploration and started test drilling in September 2008.

The junta also stated that it had sent its warships to the Bay of Bengal to lend support to the work by Daewoo as agreed between the company and the government.

The statement came following a bilateral meeting between a Bangladesh delegation led by foreign Secretary Tuohid Hossain and Burmese officials in Nay Pyi Taw on Thursday.

The two countries have long nursed a dispute over its maritime boundaries but things came to a head on Sunday when Bangladesh Foreign Advisor summoned the Burmese ambassador to the country to protest the ongoing test drilling work in the Bay of Bengal, about 50 kilometers south of Bangladesh's Saint Martin Island.

Bangladesh immediately despatched four warships to the area and warned it would take "all possible measures" to protect its sovereignty.

On Wednesday, reports citing Bangladesh's naval sources said, Burma had withdrawn its two warships from the disputed waters. But the information could not be independently verified.

The Burmese envoy to Bangladesh Phe Thann Oo, who flew back to Nay Pyi Taw to join the talks, earlier said gas explorations were conducted "Well within our [Burma's] economic zones."

MARITIME FACTS OF BURMA-BANGLADESH

Being a member country of the United Nations, Burma is responsible for demarcating its maritime territory by the deadline of mid-2009. Bangladesh's deadline in this regard is 2011. Moreover, Bangladesh is responsible for meetings with India, for the delimitation of maritime territory.

- Burma became a member country of the 'International Maritime Organization' (IMO) under the UN in 1951.

- Burma enacted the 'Maritime Territory and Economic Zone Law' in 1977, during the reign of the then 'Burma Socialist Programme Party' government. Under this law, Burma's maritime territory is 12 nautical miles from the base line. (1 nautical mile=1852 metres/ 1.150779)

- Burma signed the Maritime Territory Agreement with India, (signed on 23rd December 1986, came into force on 14th September 1987), with Thailand (signed on 25th July 1980, came into force on 12th April 1982). Burma also signed another separate agreement with India and Thailand (signed on 27th October 1993 and came into force on 24 May 1995).

- No agreement has been reached with Bangladesh. Negotiations are still on regarding the Rakhine coast offshore Block A-1,
A-3 and A-7, which have been granted to Korean Daewoo Company and AD-8, AD-2, AD3 and AD-4, the south of above mentioned blocks have been granted to a Chinese ONGC Company.

- Bangladesh's sole coral island and tourist attraction St. Martin Island is situated 8 kms southwest of Burma's coast.

- Bangladesh has divided its maritime territory into 28 blocks for bidding of foreign companies for exploration and drilling to resolve her oil and gas crisis. The current disputed area is near Bangladesh's block 3 and block 8.

- According to a BBC report, the current disputed area is 50 nautical miles southwest of the St. Martin Island. The dispute started when Burma sent four offshore gas and oil exploration vessels (2 Bahamas registered and 2 Belize registered) and 2 naval ships to Bangladeshi territorial waters. Bangladesh reportedly asked the Chinese government for mediation into this dispute.

- Burmese Energy Minister Maj. Gen. Lun Thee assured Bangladeshi officials that Burma would not conduct oil and gas exploration in the disputed offshore area, until the dispute was resolved during Vice Senior Gen. Maung Aye's official visit to Bangladesh from 7th to 9th October this year.

- Bangladesh and Burma share a 90 Km-long Border.

- Bangladesh claims that the disputed area falls within Bangladesh's territorial waters under the 1973 Territorial and Maritime Zone Act, in its protest note delivered to the Burmese envoy by Bangladesh's Foreign Secretary.

The Bay of Bengal has became crucial for the countries concerned in this area, after India found 100 trillion cubic feet gas reserve in 2005-06 and at the same time Burma found 7 trillion cubic feet gas reserve in the same area.