India eyes extended continental shelf New Delhi, March 15: India is expected to submit its claim on extending its rights on the continental shelf in May, a move which will allow it to exploit natural resources upto 350 nautical miles into the deep sea.
Government is in the process of finalising claims on the continental shelf and the issue is expected to come before the Union Cabinet this month, officials in the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) said. Goa-based National Centre for Antarctica and Ocean Research (NCAOR), an institution under MoES, has put together a massive scientific report delineating the country's claims to the continental shelf, which extends upto 350 nautical miles into the sea, they said. A number of scientists from eight organisations led by NCAOR took about nine years to prepare the report which is now being examined by legal advisors. The government can file in final claims, which close the option of any revision or submit partial claims leaving space for additions or deletions at a later stage. India, party to the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Seas, has to submit its claims by May 12, 2009 to extend its sovereignty beyond 200 nautical miles and within 350 nautical miles from the baseline. "A decision on whether to submit partial or final claims will be taken by the Union Cabinet," officials said. Sovereign rights over the continental shelf is significant as most commercial exploitation from the sea such as metallic ore, non-metallic ore and hydrocarbon exploitation takes place in the region. Nearly 10 terrabytes of data has been collected by scientists over the past nine years after a detailed study of the seas from the country's coastline. India shares maritime boundaries with Indonesia, Thailand, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Pakistan, the Maldives and Sri Lanka. Myanmar and Indonesia have filed continental shelf claims before the UN Commission. India has also to decide on the baseline from where the jurisdiction is to be marked. Bangladesh has already notified its baseline, which is disputed by both India and Myanmar. Once the claims are submitted to the UN body, it may take another three to four months before India is called to defend its claims before a sub-group. http://www.zeenews.com/sci-tech/econews/2009-03-15/514977news.html ~(^^)~ Avelino
