Bangladesh initiates Law of the Sea action against Myanmar, India as nations turn to the oceans for resources

In Bangladesh, the national government has filed for arbitration against Myanmar and India under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The dispute stems from overlapping claims in the Bay of Bengal, rich in undersea deposits of oil and natural gas. According to Bangladesh’s legal team, foreign oil companies holding exploration licenses from Bangladesh, including ConocoPhillips and Tullow Oil, have been intimidated by warships from Myanmar within waters Bangladesh claims as its own.

In separate proceedings against each of its two neighbors, Bangladesh has referred to binding arbitration its maritime boundaries in the territorial sea (out to 12 nautical miles from the shoreline), the Exclusive Economic Zone (or EEZ, to 200 nautical miles from shore), and the continental shelf (beyond 200 miles from shore). The economic opportunities associated with the EEZ and territorial sea also apply, increasingly, to aquaculture that is used in the development of bioenergy, as well as wave energy/ bioenenergy combined systems.

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