Maritime Cooperation between India and Sri Lanka: RCSS Policy Studies 36

Maritime Cooperation between India and Sri Lanka: RCSS Policy Studies 36

By- Adluri Subramanyam Raju and S.I. Keethaponcalan

Published in association with Regional Centre for Strategic Studies, Colombo

Maritime boundary of India and Sri Lanka is divided at three different points in different seas: the Bay of Bengal in the north, the Palk Straits in the middle, and the Gulf of Mannar in the South. The maximum distance between these two countries in the Palk Straits is about 45 km. and the minimum distance is around 16 km. between Dhanushkodi on the Indian side and Thalaimannar on the Sri Lankan coast. They don’t have Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) in the area. They have rights over 12 to 22 km. of water. The countries signed bilateral agreements on the Kachchativu Island in June 1974 and on the maritime boundary in the Gulf of Mannar and the Bay of Bengal in March 1976. However, there are some contentious issues between them. The study has analysed the various maritime issues between India and Sri Lanka.

The work focuses on the reasonable options available to both countries. It brings out a new perspective on the problem between a larger and a smaller country. Moreover, some of the issues in maritime relations directly and indirectly affect lives of communities in and around the coastal areas. A systematic analysis of these issues may imporve understanding of the
dynamics of the problems at hand among policy makers, most of whom are largely
disconnected from the ground realities. Such an understanding may help resolve some of the problems faced by these communities.

Adluri Subramanyam Raju is a Honorary Academic Fellow at the Indo-American Centre for International Studies, Hyderabad and Associate Editor for Indian Ocean Survey. He was Salzburg Seminar Fellow (2006), recipient of the Mahbub-ul-Haq Award (2003), Scholar of Peace (2002) and Kodikara Award (1998). He has published five books and more than a dozen articles.

S.I. Keethaponcalan is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Political Science and Public Policy, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. He holds a masters and a doctoral degree in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from George Mason University, Virginia and Nova Southeastern University, Florida respectively. He has published widely on issues relating to Sri Lanka and South Asia.

ISBN 81-7304-690-5 2006 126p. Rs.250/ Pounds 17.99


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