Dhaka: Burma had not intruded into Bangladeshi territory and had been exploring for oil and gas in its own territorial waters, Burma's Ambassador to Bangladesh, U Phe Than U, told the Bangladeshi Foreign Adviser yesterday, an official said.

The Burmese ambassador made this statement to Bangladesh's Foreign Adviser Iftekhar Ahmed when he was summoned to the Foreign Ministry yesterday, for the second time within 24 hours.

According to a foreign ministry source, Iftekhar Ahmed told the Burmese ambassador that several Burmese vessels had intruded into Bangladesh's territorial waters for hydrocarbon exploration near deep sea blocks 8-13.

However, the Burmese ambassador responded by claiming that the area in question belonged to Burma and the exploration was done entirely within Burma's territory.

During the meeting, Bangladeshi Foreign Adviser Iftekhar Ahmed told the ambassador that Bangladesh is a peace-loving country, and "we do not want to go in for any confrontation, as Burma is our neighbour."

However, he also added that Bangladesh would take necessary action to protect its sovereignty and territory. He said, "We want to put an end to this situation forthwith - we want to resolve the matter diplomatically."

Bangladesh's Foreign Minister told the Burmese ambassador that Bangladesh would be sending Foreign Secretary Touhid Hossain to Burma as a special envoy to officially lodge a protest with senior officials in Burma so that the situation does not get out of hand. The Bangladeshi mission is expected to leave for Burma tomorrow morning.

The Bangladesh Foreign Ministry also called the South Korean ambassador to Dhaka and asked him to withdraw the Daewoo ships that were working for Burma.

Ships of the South Korean company Daewoo are anchored 50 nautical miles southwest of St. Martin Island, which is located in the mouth of the Naff River. The Naff River forms the boundary between Bangladesh and Burma.