South Asia maritime issues

Abstract

The maritime boundary issues and problems of South Asia, which are outlined here, are not as complex as would be found elsewhere in regions like the south-west Pacific, where the south-east Asian islandic states have essential claims on the sea for their existence, and as a source of development, affected by the dynamics of population change, adverse man-resource equations and the nature of economic development. Consequent conflicting claims there may cause serious problems.

In the case of South Asia, states are mostly Indo-Centric and the consequences of maritime claims may be more serious. However, the cases of the Maldives and Sri Lanka, which are islandic, or even Bangladesh, cannot be overlooked. Up to now, the issues have been more or less settled, but the case of Bangladesh and India awaits final solution. There is optimism within the framework of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) for mutual adjustment and cooperation, and considerations for further offshore development of mineral and fisheries resources place pressure to achieve a careful and mutually agreeable solution to the problems.