New Delhi, May 1: A new hitch over the definition of the territorial sea limit between India and Sri Lanka in the Palk Straits is holding up the settlement of the Kachativu issue.
It was agreed during Mrs. Bandaranaike’s recent visit to Delhi that the Kachathivu dispute should be resolved soon on the basis of a fresh delimitation of the territorial waters between the Pak Starits and Adam’s Bridge, which would automatically settle the issue without the historical claims of either side being gone into.
The officials of the two countries entrusted with the determination of the new Meridian Line in these historic waters have run into difficulties over the definition of the sea limit in this region.
India wants the commencing points for the 12 mile limit from either side to be their actual shore lines, not the off-shore islands in the Palk Straits.
But Sri Lanka contends that its sea limit should extend 12 miles from its farthest territorial jurisdiction in these narrow straits.
As Kachativu is one of the many off-shore islands in the Palk Straits which will lie on either side of the new Meridian Line, there is a need for greater clarity on the definition of the Indian and Sri Lanka sea limits in these narrow waters for avoiding further controversies.
India is anxious that the whole issue should be settled in a clear-cut fashion with no legal loopholes left for any misunderstanding later about the scope of its settlement.
