Burma carts off rig from disputed waters

Burma removed a rig from a gas-rich stretch of the Bay of Bengal yesterday after Bangladesh sent warships to protest against exploration in the disputed waters, Dhaka's foreign minister said.

Bangladesh deployed four ships and put its navy and armed forces on high alert after a South Korean company escorted by Burmese ships began work in the area. Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury told that Burma was removing the exploration equipment. Bangladesh's armed forces issued a statement saying Burma had been forced to withdraw from the disputed waters. "Navy personnel talked to the foreign technical crews who were involved in the drilling rig and made them understand our resolve," it said. Bangladesh faces an acute energy shortage and has invited bids from foreign companies to explore gas reserves in its part of the Bay of Bengal. Navy and army officials told AFP that Bangladesh had readied missile-laden boats and two elite army units as Burma boosted its troop presence along the 220-kilometre (170-mile) land border. Officials of the two countries held talks in the new Burma capital Naypyidaw earlier this week but apparently failed to resolve the dispute.
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