The unthinkable has happened. Neighbours Burma and Bangladesh, who shared a friendly relation till the other day are today at loggerheads. And that is an understatement given that the two have positioned naval warships and stationed troops along their borders. The raison d'etre for this eye ball to eye ball confrontation has to do with Burma drilling for gas in Bay of Bengal which Bangladesh claim is in its territorial waters. Burma has refuted the claim. Attempts at resolving the imbroglio through discussions have not paid off. Tension is palpable in both sides of the porous border.
The hostilities between the two neighbours came to a head after a four-day standoff over maritime boundary, a thorny issue between the two countries for a considerable period. Things came to head on Sunday (November 2) when the Bangladesh Foreign Advisor summoned the Burmese ambassador in Dhaka to protest the test drilling in the Bay of Bengal, about 50 kilometers south of Bangladesh's Saint Martin Island, according to media reports from Burma and Bangladesh.
Early on in the week on Tuesday Bangladesh's Foreign Adviser Dr. Iftekhar Chowdhury had announced that Bangladesh's endeavour was to settle the issue diplomatically. He, had however warned it should be understood that "we will do all that it takes to protect our sovereignty," media reports emanating from Bangladesh said.
Bangladesh despatched as many as four warships as soon as the authorities sighted vessels and rigs of the Daewoo International Corporation flanked by at least three Burmese naval ships sent over three days from Monday last week.
Following the summons of the Burmese ambassador in Dhaka, a bilateral meeting took place between a Bangladesh delegation led by Foreign Secretary Tuohid Hossain and Burmese officials in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar's new jungle capital on Thursday, to little effect for the junta was adamant about continuing with the exploration in what it claimed was its territorial waters.
Things took a turn for the worse on Friday morning where the Burmese regime took a tough stand and announced in its state run newspaper the New Light of Myanmar that the Bangladeshi demand that the regime stop drilling in the AD-7 block in the Bay of Bengal is "mistaken and unlawful". It was forceful in its claim that the test drilling site was in its territorial waters. To drive the point home the junta's state run television announced Burma will continue drilling oil from the disputed area as it is in its territorial waters.
To back up its tough stand the Burmese junta ordered a fourth naval warship to take up position near the western coast of Sittwe in Myanmar. The situation during the weekend saw Bangladesh naval ships and Burmese warships staring each other in the eye.
The Burmese regime's contention in a statement to its state run media was that it had awarded Daewoo International Corporation the contract to carry out exploration work in the offshore block AD-7 in 2005. Daewoo in 2007 began exploration and started test drilling in September 2008, the statement added. The Burmese naval ships escorting the drilling vessels were part of the agreement.
Even as the face off continued with the warships maintaining their positions, reports of troop build up on both sides of Burma and Bangladesh started filtering in late on Sunday afternoon.
The Bangladesh media reported that both countries had begun to station its troops after talks in Burma over disputed waters in the Bay of Bengal came a cropper on Friday.
With the tension between the two countries escalating the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) troops were put on high alert at vulnerable points in Bandarban of Chittagong Hill Tracts and Cox's Bazaar districts. Not to be outdone Burma has also deployed its troops on the border near Maungdaw north and south.
Though tension was at its peak there were no exploration activities by the Burmese till Saturday though Burmese warships remain anchored in the dispute area. Reports from Bangladesh also indicated that schools in border areas were occupied by BDR troops taking up positions. Further reports from Bangladesh on Sunday indicated that Daewoo was removing rigs and the exploration equipment from the disputed site.
Ever since the Burmese started exploration activities last week, Bangladesh has been maintaining that Burma resolve the maritime boundary dispute through diplomatic channels.
What made matters worse is the souring of relations between the two countries which were known to be on extremely friendly terms both diplomatically and regarding bilateral trade.
During the weekend Bangladesh was reported to have sent feelers to China to help to defuse the tension and settle the dispute. Beijing wants Bangladesh and Burma to resolve the dispute in an amicable atmosphere. There is still a possibility that China will mediate because it is close to both countries. Fresh round of talks between the two countries are likely to be held in Dhaka on November 16 and 17, media reports added amidst claims that Bangladesh has forced the drilling vessels of Daewoo to start withdrawing.
