Foreign Minister Dr Dipu Moni yesterday said Myanmar's military mobilisation along Bangladesh border is routine movement of troops and rejected speculation that it had links with Dhaka's move seeking UN arbitration over maritime boundary with its neighbours. She was addressing a press briefing at foreign ministry yesterday.

In reply to a question, she told reporters that the movement of Myanmar troops had no link with Bangladesh's decision "as we were receiving that type of media reports before our move for arbitration."In last few days there were media reports that Myanmar deployed heavy military personnel along Bangladesh-Myanmar border in Bandarban and Cox's Bazaar districts. Regarding troops mobilisation, Dipu Moni said, "I had talks with our ambassador in Myanmar, who is an army general, and he told me that it was a routine practice, not a military build-up."

She added that Bangladesh foreign secretary Miajrul Quayes also enquired about the matter from the Myanmar ambassador in Dhaka and the envoy conveyed the same message. The foreign minister said her ministry had no specific information about the gathering of Rohingyas for being pushed into Bangladesh territory. She also said, 'Myanmar is constructing fence within their territory in conformity with international rules and we've nothing to say about it'. On October 8, Bangladesh sought UN arbitration to settle maritime disputes with its neighbours.

The foreign minister said after notifying the envoys of Indian and Myanmar, she had also talked to Indian foreign minister over telephone. "I told him that Bangladesh has very limited natural resources and we need to explore and use the resources for our own development" she added. Dipu Moni said she did not have any talks with her Myanmar counterpart on the issue but she hoped to have discussion on the sidelines of Asian Cooperation Dialogue to be held in Colombo on October 15.

The foreign minister said, "We want to share the common natural resources based on justice, maintaining our friendly ties with India and Myanmar. We hope we will get fair share through the arbitration. It is also possible bilateral discussions." Responding to a question, she said Bangladesh has not officially proposed to China for mediation between Myanmar and Bangladesh to settle the maritime dispute. The foreign minister said that prime minister Sheikh Hasina may visit China at a mutually convenient time. "But the visit will not take place shortly," she added. Asked about the allegation that Bangladesh hurriedly decided to go to UN for arbitration under US pressure as US-based Company has been given the lease to explore gas blocks in the Bay of Bengal, she declined to make any comment.

The foreign minister mentioned that she would visit Mauritius on October 18 to 20 in a bid to have a first hand view of the condition of Bangladeshi labourers working there. In reply to a question the Foreign Minister said since quick results through negotiations with India and Myanmar may not be found, Bangladesh decided to seek settlement of the boundary issue through UN adjudication. Recently, the government leased out three gas blocks to two foreign companies for exploration-a move which also triggered protests from a leftwing coalition of protestors at home. ConocoPhilips got blocks 10 and 11 and Irish company Tullow got block 5 for exploration.

-The Independent

Myanmar erecting fence as per law: Dipu Moni

The Daily Star: Foreign Minister Dipu Moni today said Myanmar is erecting barbed wire fence along Bangladesh border in Bandarban conforming with the international law. She was addressing a press conference at her office this afternoon. Dipu Moni said she did not know about the Rohingyas that Myanmar authorities gathered on borders to push in Bangladesh. The foreign minister's comments came after media news that Myanmar authorities have been erecting concrete pillars for barbed wire fence along Myanmar border at Naikkhangchhari in Bandarban and also mobilising a huge number of Myanmarese troops along the border.

Nasaka, the Myanmarese border guards, has also gathered about 10,000 Rohingyas near its border with Bangladesh in a bid to push them into the Bangladesh territory as part of their latest provocative move, sources at the intelligence agencies said last night. They have been kept at several bordering points opposite Naikhongchhari in Bandarban over the past few days, they said. In this situation, Bangladesh is also making all-out preparations to thwart any incursion attempt by them, highly placed sources in the government said yesterday.

Dhaka rejects Yangon’s military build up

The New Nation: Foreign Minister Dr Dipu Moni yesterday rejected reports about Myanmar's heavy military buildup along Bangladesh border following Dhaka's move for UN arbitration over maritime boundary and said it is routine movements of security personnel. In reply to a question she told a press briefing that she had talks with the Bangladesh Ambassador to Myanmar and the Foreign Secretary also had discussed it with Myanmar's envoy in Dhaka and they came to know that it's a "routine movement" of Myanmar forces.

Dipu Moni told a correspondent that the movements of the Myanmar security personnel had no link with Bangladesh's decision seeking UN arbitration to determine maritime boundary between the two neighbors. She told a questioner that Myanmar is erecting barbed- wire fences within its border maintaining international law, and "we've nothing to say about it".

The foreign minister said she has no specific information about the gathering of Rohingya for pushing them into Bangladesh. On October 8, Bangladesh sought UN arbitration to settle disputed maritime boundary with neighboring India and Myanmar in a bid to explore and exploit natural resources from the Bay of Bengal. "We've very limited natural resources and we need to explore and use the resources for our own development," Dipu Moni said, adding: "We want to share the common natural resources based on justice, maintaining our friendly ties with India and Myanmar. We hope we will get fair share through the arbitration."

In reply to a question the Foreign Minister said since quick results through negotiations with India and Myanmar may not be found, Bangladesh decided to seek settlement of the boundary issue through UN adjudication. She told a correspondent that Bangladesh has not officially proposed to China for mediation between Myanmar and Bangladesh to settle the maritime-boundary issue. When her attention was drawn to an Adviser's remarks in this respect, the FM said she can't make any comment on the Adviser's remarks.

Dipu Moni told a correspondent that there is no possibility of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to China in November but stated that the visit would take place "soon", at a mutually convenient time. In reply to a question the Foreign Minister said she has already discussed Bangladesh's stance on UN arbitration to determine the maritime boundary with the Indian External Affairs Minister over telephone. She will also discuss the conundrum with the Myanmar Foreign Minister on the sidelines of ACD meeting to be held in Colombo on October 15.

Dipu Moni rejected a notion that Bangladesh decided to go to UN for arbitration under US pressure since a US-based company, ConocoPhillips, has been given the lease to explore gas blocks 10 and 11 in the Bay of Bengal. "I can't make any comment on speculation," she said laughingly. Recently, the government leased out three gas blocks to two foreign companies for exploration-a move which also triggered protests from a leftwing coalition of protestors at home. ConocoPhilips got blocks 10 and 11 and Irish company Tullow got block 5 for exploration.