Page 142 - MDSL Final

MARITIME DOCTRINE OF SRI LANKA
The Maritime Zones Law states that Sri Lanka exercises sovereignty,
exclusive jurisdiction and control in and over the Historic Waters, as well
as in and over the islands and the CS and the seabed and subsoil thereof
within such Historic Waters. The Palk Strait which provides the entrance
to Palk Bay has also been declared Internal Waters. 79

The waters in this entire sector are very shallow being generally in the
region of 12 metres in depth. In this area the question of a baseline is not
relevant, the internal waters being all those water line on the Sri Lanka
side of the boundary line. In the internal waters of a State which would
include rivers, lagoons, bays whose mouths are less than 24 miles, as
well as ports, which include permanent installations further out to sea
which form an integral part of a port system, the coastal State exercises
full sovereignty as it does in respect of its land territory. 80

The Boundary Agreements

The first boundary agreement of 1974 demarcates the waters from
Adam’s Bridge to Palk Strait. Article 5 of the agreement gives Indian
fishermen and pilgrims’ access to visit Kachchativu as hitherto, which in
the context means access to visit Kachchativu during the annual church
festival of St. Anthony, without obtaining travel documents or visas
for this purpose. Article 6 states that the vessels of India and Sri Lanka
will enjoy in each other’s waters such rights as they have traditionally
enjoyed hearing. Article 7 refers to the fact that if there is any single
geological or natural gas structure or field straddling across the boundary,
the two countries should seek to reach an agreement on the manner in
which the structure or field should be most effectively exploited and the
manner in which the proceeds deriving there from shall be allocated.
This agreement which was signed in June 1974 was ratified on 08th July
1974 and the agreement entered into force from that date. 81

In 1976 a second boundary agreement was entered into force in
order to extend the maritime boundary between the two countries by
determining the boundaries in the Gulf of Mannar and the Bay of Bengal,
i.e. to the West and East respectively of the boundary which had already
been delimited above. Under the terms of this agreement, the boundary
on the Western coast was extended from Adam’s Bridge southwards to a
specified position. Article 1 says the extension of the boundary beyond

124 To Nurture a Stable Environment at Sea