July 12, Colombo (LNW): The Foreign Ministry released a statement yesterday addressing public speculations regarding the ceding of Sri Lanka’s sovereign rights in matters related to the International Seabed Authority (ISBA) in Jamaica and the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (UNCLCS).
The statement clarified that these speculations do not reflect the factual situation. The Ministry highlighted that, according to Article 76 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), all coastal states are entitled to claim an extended continental shelf beyond the 200 nautical miles Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
Sri Lanka, as a coastal state, submitted its technical and scientific data to the UNCLCS on May 8, 2009, to establish the outer limits of its continental shelf. This submission was made under the special method contained in the Statement of Understanding (SoU) for States in the Southern part of the Bay of Bengal. A sub-commission was appointed by the UNCLCS to review Sri Lanka’s submission in October 2016, and several rounds of discussions have since taken place. However, the UNCLCS has yet to make recommendations due to a request by India regarding the claimed area. This matter is being addressed through diplomatic channels.
Separately, India submitted an application to the ISBA for the exploration of cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts at the Afanasy Nikitin seamount. The ISBA is responsible for considering and approving such applications under Part XI Section 4 of UNCLOS. Since the area claimed by India for exploration overlaps with Sri Lanka’s continental shelf submission, Sri Lanka has requested the ISBA to withhold any decisions until the UNCLCS makes final recommendations on Sri Lanka’s submission.
Both matters are currently under process before the UNCLCS and the ISBA, two distinct UN entities responsible for implementing UNCLOS provisions. The Foreign Ministry’s statement emphasized that recent public speculations about Sri Lanka ceding its sovereign rights are unfounded and not based on the actual situation.
