Bangladesh expresses concern over Myanmar fence
DHAKA (Reuters) – Bangladesh’s foreign ministry expressed concern on Monday over Myanmar’s plan to build a barbed wire fence along a 40-km (25 miles) stretch of their border, renewing tensions after a resources dispute last year.
“We heard a few days ago that Myanmar was piling fencing materials on its side of the border but only realized it yesterday that they plan to erect the fence only 13 meters (40 feet) off the no man’s land,” said a foreign ministry official, who asked not to be named.
No construction work is allowed in the narrow no man’s land area, other officials said.
The foreign ministry would lodge an official protest, the ministry official said, adding that the Myanmar embassy in Dhaka had confirmed the plan to build the fence. Bangladesh and Myanmar share a 320 km (190 miles) border, partly demarcated by the Naf river, a regular route for smuggling and illegal crossings by Muslim refugees fleeing what they say is persecution by Myanmar’s military junta.
Tension rose between the two usually friendly neighbors last October when Yangon started exploring for oil and gas in a disputed area of the Bay of Bengal, defying protests by Dhaka.
Both countries deployed navy ships but withdrew them when Yangon halted the exploration amid intense diplomatic pressure.
Troops along the borders remain on alert, security officials said, but there has been no violence. Bangladesh hopes to demarcate its boundary in the Bay in the next few years.
