Sri Lanka Claims Andaman Islands, Discussions with India Before Final Submissions to the UN Commission

05th November 2009, www.island.lk, By Saman Indrajith

India’s Andaman Islands will come within the area which Sri Lanka is hoping to claim in keeping with its sea bed rights from the UN Commission on the limits of the continental shelf.

Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama yesterday told parliament that Sri Lanka’s claim would be discussed with India before making final submissions to the UN Commission. He was responding to a query raised by UNP MP Ravi Karunanayake.

He said that Sri Lanka had a right to claim approximately around 25 times the size of the country’s land mass (1,725,800 square kilometres of the sea bed).

But the precise outer limit would be determined on the basis of technical and scientific data provided by Sri Lanka to the UN Commission.

He said Sri Lanka’s submission was expected to be taken up for consideration around 2025.

The minister said that many countries, including Sri Lanka, had been unhappy about the long delay in scheduling UN hearings.