Key Points
Sri Lankan fishermen had been using trawlers to commercially fish in Wadge Bank a continental shelf nearly 80 kilometres (50 miles) seaward from the coast of Kanyakumari since at least the 1920s...
The Wadge Bank which is located near Cape Comorin, the general description and outline of which is given in the enclosed note and chart, lies within the exclusive economic zone of India, and India shall have sovereign rights over the area and its resources, said the agreement between India and Sri Lanka, signed 23 March 1976...
The agreement added: The fishing vessels of Sri Lanka and persons on board these vessels shall not engage in fishing in the Wadge Bank..
However, at the request of the Government of Sri Lanka and as a gesture of goodwill, the Government of India agrees that Sri Lanka fishing vessels duly licensed by the Government of India may engage in fishing in the Wadge Bank for a period of three years from the date of establishment by India of its exclusive economic zone (sic)...
If the Government of India decides to explore the Wadge Bank for petroleum and other mineral resources during the period mentioned in sub-paragraph (2), the Government of India shall notify to the Government of Sri Lanka the zones reserved for such exploration and the date of commencement of exploration..
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