No maritime agreement, confirms Sri Lankan High Commission

The Sri Lankan High Commission has refuted the existence of a special agreement allowing Sri Lankan vessels to cross Maldivian territorial waters.

News of such an agreement was published last week in Maldivian media after Sri Lanka’s Deputy External Minister Neomal Perera was quoted in Sri Lanka’s Daily Mirror newspaper as saying such an agreement had been signed.

In the Maldives, Fisheries Minister Dr Ibrahim Didi and Foreign Minister Ahmed Naseem denied such an agreement existed, while the President’s Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair said foreign vessels already had such permission under the UN Convention on Law of the Sea.

The opposition Dhivehi Rayithunge Party (DRP) denounced the supposed agreement as an assault on soverignity and “an insult to Maldivian fishermen”, questioning the capacity of the country to monitor illegal fishing, while Maldivian Democratic Party Chairperson ‘Reeko’ Moosa retaliated by saying such a statement was “very irresponsible” as it implied Sri Lanka were “thieves”.