Sri Lanka is effectively arguing for expanding its Exclusive Economic Zone
According to Island News, Sri Lanka is effectively arguing for expanding its Exclusive Economic Zone in partnership with the Maldives, which would prevent disputes between the two countries over competing claims.
A country’s “Exclusive Economic Zone” extends two hundred nautical miles out into the ocean from its territorial sea. Within this zone, the nation controls all living and nonliving resources.
Sri Lanka sought to ascertain if the continental shelf stretched beyond the two hundred nautical miles Exclusive Economic Zone set by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. To that purpose, the country presented testimony to the United Nations Commission on the boundaries of the Continental Shelf. This evidence includes data from the scientific and technological communities, among other things.
Subsequently, in 2016, the Commission formed a sub-commission to interact with Sri Lanka.
Since then, the Sri Lankan delegation assigned to the assignment has undertaken eleven rounds of negotiations. According to a knowledgeable source, Sri Lanka has satisfied the subcommission by effectively establishing the outside boundary of its continental shelf. However, permission from the UN Commission is still pending.
To collaborate with this subcommission, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry was approved by the Cabinet last year to establish the National Ocean Affairs Committee within the Ministry.
The continental shelf is a marine zone that includes many rich mineral reserves, oil, gas, and fisheries. This particular zone has enormous commercial value. As such, every State attempts to widen its continental border to take advantage of it and seize as much as possible.
UN rules allow a nation to retain continental shelf rights up to 350 or 100 nm from the deeper 2,500-meter depth.
Claims to overlap in the expansion of the continental shelf with the Maldives are discovered by The Daily Mirror.
The subject was covered by the Sri Lankan team during bilateral discussions with Maldivian Foreign Affairs Minister Moosa Zameer. It is revealed that the two parties agreed to work together to prevent disputes about overlaps.
