Verdict in favor of Bangladesh in the Bangladesh-India maritime boundary case: Bangladesh got 19,500 square km

The Dhaka Times Desk Bangladesh-India maritime boundary case has been ruled in favor of Bangladesh. Yesterday, the International Court of Arbitration gave its verdict in this case, but it was published today according to the court's instructions.

It is known that the International Court of Arbitration has determined the new maritime boundary with India by giving Bangladesh 19 thousand 467 square kilometers out of the disputed area of 25 thousand 602 square kilometers of the Bay of Bengal. On Monday, the International Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague announced the decision to settle the Bangladesh-India maritime boundary dispute.

Foreign Minister Abul Hasan Mahmud Ali announced the verdict in a press conference in Dhaka today. On Monday, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) of the Netherlands handed over the copy of the verdict to India and Bangladesh. The verdict was released today due to the direction of the court. However, the details of the verdict are not yet known.

It should be noted that India had been arguing to draw a line of equal distance (equidity) to determine the Bangladesh-India maritime boundary. India was saying that the boundary line would be 162 degrees from the sea coast. On the other hand, since the coastal line of Bangladesh is concave, Bangladesh's argument for drawing the boundary line on the basis of equity is that the line will be 180 degrees from the main point of the land towards the sea. As the matter was not resolved at the policy-making level of both countries, a case was later filed in the international court. Bangladesh filed a case on this issue at the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague on 8 October 2009.