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After the expected collapse of the
Siachen talks, India and Pakistan have
started discussing the Sir Creek issue
and reports indicate that both
countries are agreeing on some
fundamentals even though there is much
disagreement. While this issue could
have been a slam dunk, petty
nit-picking and desire to control more
economically valuable property is
stopping progress.
Sir Creek is a 96 kilometer marshy
stretch between the Rann of Kutch to
Sindh in Pakistan rich in minerals,
oil, and gas. Pakistan claims that the
green line denoted in a 1914 map shows
that the whole creek is within its
borders. It says that the whole area
needs to be “transposed” to the ground
and then the actual location of the
line determined. India disagrees and
says that the border must be, as is
international convention, right in the
middle of the waters giving each
country half the creek. India says
that old maps do not necessarily
reflect the ground realities and
topography and hence there must be
alternate mechanisms to resolve the
dispute. Despite the fundamental
disagreement, both countries surveyed
the whole area early 2005.
The two countries are now discussing
this survey and early reports indicate
that Pakistan is willing to consider
India’s proposal that the delimiting
start from their respective Exclusive
Economic Zones (EEZ) in the sea and
work to the land. Both sides
characterized the discussions as
“purposeful and result-oriented.”
There is a timeline that they are
working against. The United Nations
Convention on Law of Seas say that
countries need to resolve their
differences by 2009 and stake out
their claim outside the 200 nautical
mile EEZ or else the disputed land
becomes international waters. If that
should happen, any third country could
come in and exploit the resources.
India is led by Surveyor General Major
General Gopal Rao and Pakistan by
Additional Secretary (Defense) Rear
Admiral Ahsan-ul-Haq Chaudhry.
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