Bangladesh wants to redraw sea border with India

Bangladesh will approach the UN seeking to delineate its maritime borders in the Bay of Bengal with India and Myanmar.

Bangladesh will approach the UN seeking to delineate its maritime borders in the Bay of Bengal with India and Myanmar.

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Bangladesh claims over 450 nautical miles from its coastline in the Bay of Bengal.

The country has long-standing problems with India and Myanmar on the issue of "starting point" to mark its marine boundary.

There are overlapping claims by all three neighbouring countries because of the funnel-like coastline of the Bay of Bengal, New Age newspaper said on Thursday.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wednesday approved her cabinet's "position paper" which will be sent to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in New York later this month.

M. Khurshed Alam, the foreign ministry's additional secretary for the UNCLOS wing, said: "The document was prepared following the Gardiner method under Article 76 of the UNCLOS."

Under the UN provision, no claims submitted by a country should be taken for final consideration before settling the overlapping claims.